6 Hardest Fields of Law to Practice

You just passed your last exams and are now a fully-fledged lawyer or you just took your LSAT and got accepted into a good Law University and already are wondering what are the hardest fields of law to practice?

Choosing a field over another can seem a daunting task, this is why we put together this list, to help you get a better understanding of the careers that may suit you. There are also plenty of quizzes online that you may give you an idea of what you want out of a career law. And go talk to your career adviser too, they may have good ideas.

Law is a fascinating subject. It is all around us and shape our lives in ways we don’t even realize. For almost every area of life, there is a law and a lawyer. You can become a lawyer in Criminal Law, International Law, Environmental Law and also in Sports, in Media, etc.

For those of you who would like to export your shiny degrees to a new country, be sure to choose a common law country comparable to the U.S. If you choose to emigrate in a civil law country, you will have to study different practices of law.

In case you’re wondering: common law countries primarily base their judicial science on previous cases while civil law rests mainly on codified statutes.

To make sure we truly had the best feel for the hardest fields of law to practice, we mused around Law forums and listened to what the professional organizations had to say.

For those of you who prefer the easy way, go check our article on the 6 Easiest Fields Of Law To Practice.

One caveat: If you talk to lawyers who are passionate by their fields of practice, they will definitely tell you that their fields are the best, the most entertaining, the most challenging, etc. But to them, their field is the best so they won’t tell you it is also very hard work because they don’t see it that way.

 

 

6. Corporate / Business Law

The big bucks–corporate law is certainly the field to enter for those who want money and want it fast. It might not be the hardest field to practice, but it still has plenty of challenges.

Although, you have to realize one thing: Corporate law equals playing with millions of dollars every day so it is usually handled by the big law firms who have the resources for it.

If you’re dreaming of playing big, you’ll have to play by the rules: getting an internship in one of the top firms, stand out, get through the grind of being an associate and patiently rise to the top. It will take you time, so learn to be patient.

It is also an area where you have to know many ever-changing regulations and try to fit the proper regulations for the sometimes very inventive ways of your clients.

 

5. Environmental Law

If you’re passionate about defending Earth’s rights or if you think people have a right to live in a clean-air area, then the environmental law is for you.

It is a new area and this is why it is on our list of hardest fields of law to practice. The environment became a specific problem shaped by timid laws in the 1970s. Since then, new laws keep being voted back and forth by our representatives as we discover evidence that the Earth is boiling or maybe not so (depending on which lobby you listen to).

Because of this novelty, it is hard to keep up with what is going on in the industry and the courts, but this is what makes it so interesting. And it is more and more in demand.

Who knows, you may even help shape the future of environmental laws?

 

4. Criminal Law

Who doesn’t see themselves helping the guilt… The innocent escape unfair imprisonment and be the hero of the day?

Who didn’t dreamed of being The Lincoln Lawyer? If you didn’t, you’re in the wrong career (just kidding!)

Criminal Law. the number 4 in our list of hardest fields of law to practice may not be the hardest field of law to practice but it has its own challenges.

So it is on this list for three main reasons: you’d better have good acting skills for court days (and you won’t learn that at Law School), it is physically dangerous (you may be dealing with hardened criminals, and prison visits are not the most fun place on Earth to visit) and, what about those times where you may have put an innocent behind bars?

The last reason is the one mistake you’ll have to live with for the rest of your career–and it can’t be that easy.

 

 

3. Family Law

Family Law is not technically difficult, or so the lawyers who practice it say. Family Law, according to the ABA section dedicated to it, comprises “adoption, divorce, custody, military law, alternative families and elder law.”

Obviously, divorces play a substantial part in this job. This is why we chose Family Law to join this list of hardest fields of law to practice. Not because of the technicality of the fields but because of the human side.

It may not be the hardest field to practice in the books, but dealing with human emotions all day is far from being the easiest job in the world.

Have you ever seen a custody battle go wrong? Who do you think will be at the receiving end? The lawyer, more often than not.

As a Family lawyer, you will be a friend, a fierce fighter for the divorcee you represent; and if it goes sideways, you’ll also be first in line to get angry calls.

 

2. International Law

Ah, dreaming about a career as Amal Alamuddin? Well, even though there is not a George Clooney for every lawyer in town, you can still enjoy a very successful career in International Law.

As an international lawyer, that ranks secon in our list of hardest fields of law to practice, you will be faced everyday by numerous challenges. Remember the common law vs. civil law definition? This is where you will get to study it in plenty of details.

International law is fascinating because laws evolve all the time. Not only will you have to keep up-to-date with your native laws, but also with the ones from other countries.

International Law has many subdivisions (Human rights, International Energy and resources, Immigration…) to choose from.

And who knows, you may even contribute to new International laws that plenty of countries will then implement. Who can do better than that?

 

1. Tax Law

Seen from afar, taxes are this boring thing that everyone has to grumpily comply with. And it looks like the most boring of subject. But once you start practicing it, you will quickly realize how more complex and challenging it is than you thought.

Tax law is less about endless calculation and more about being on top of a wide and ever-changing array of regulations. Tax law cover a wide range of subject that, as a lawyer, you will have to juggle every day. Not only do you have to know your area tax code, but you also have to know the IRC (Internal Revenue Code), the latest real estates regulations, corporate regulations and a few more in order to help the company which hired you to thrive.

And more often than not, you may even have a brush with the IRS.

Those are the 6 hardest fields of law to practice that we thought deserve to be on this list for the various challenges they bring to the lawyers practicing those fields.