If you’re wondering about the different areas of law, I guess subspecialties, for example, just in general, there’s criminal and there’s civil. Civil cases are those cases that you’re asking for somebody to stop doing something or asking for compensation or money from somebody. There’s also criminal and that deals with your rights and your freedoms, whether you are going to have to go to prison or get a citation from a municipal or a governmental entity after a case.
And then you have some other things where it’s like probate or litigation with trusts and estates. That kind of goes between civil and probate is a little bit different because it’s a different court in Wisconsin. The last one is really family law, where it’s divorce, child custody, protection of children, for example, so that’s family law.
What do you want to get involved in? I’ve handled almost all these kind of cases. I’ve been involved in civil for the majority of my career, but I’ve also handled cases that were criminal. I did some probate litigation. And I never really wanted to get into divorce or family law matters. I’ve been on the outskirts and helping out other attorneys with regard to that, but I’ve never handled directly a family law matter.
So knowing all of these, it’s important. Once you get a sense of what they all are, then what is your skill set and what is your desire? I would recommend that you specialize. I think it’s important to really understand, one area of law really well, as opposed to being a jack of all trades, but it’s up to you.
It’s something at this point in your career, if you’re a law student or if you’re a new lawyer, it’s good to know what’s out there and what your options are. And that’s why.