20 Types of Lawyers in India- Civil, Criminal, Corporate, Family lawyers, Salary, Courses

Types of Lawyers - Lawyers offer legal services to clients, businesses, and government agencies on legal issues and disputes. Lawyers can wear multiple hats and are known for doing a range of tasks, including conducting depositions, counselling clients, interrogating witnesses, drafting legal documents, and performing legal research. The legal profession in India has many opportunities for lawyers, from criminal law, constitutional law, commercial law, and intellectual property law. There is a specific lawyer in every field who specializes in dealing with a particular legal issue. The law profession has been emerging for decades, there have been new emerging opportunities like cyber lawyers, environmental lawyers, etc. Read the complete article to know more about types of lawyers, roles, salaries and other related information.
Also, check - Difference Between a Lawyer an Advocate

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Different types of lawyers

1. Criminal lawyers
2. Environmental lawyers
3. Family lawyers
4. Corporate lawyers
5. Civil lawyers
6. Intellectual property lawyers
7. Tax lawyer
8. Cyber lawyers
9. Estate planning lawyers
10. Worker's compensation lawyer
11. Public interest lawyers
12. Medical malpractice lawyers
13. Merger and acquisition lawyer
14. Labour lawyers
15. Bankruptcy lawyers
16. Securities lawyer
17. Military lawyers
18. Contract lawyers
19. Government lawyers
20. Immigration lawyers

Also Read | How to become a lawyer in India

Types of Lawyers in India - Roles and Responsibilities

Understanding the roles and responsibilities of the different lawyer types that exist can help you pursue the speciality you are most passionate about.

1. Civil lawyer

A civil lawyers generally deals with legal disputes concerning personal injury, family relationships, employment and real estate. They also work with government entities and business institutions. Individuals, interpersonal ties, and property conflicts are frequently the centre of civil disputes. A civil lawyer attempts to settle problems and disagreements amongst the parties involved.

2. Criminal lawyers

A criminal lawyer prosecutes or defends individuals who are accused of committing crimes. The responsibilities of a criminal lawyer include research and case analysis to identify a likely result and create a winning courtroom defence plan for clients, assisting clients to grasp the meaning of the law and their legal alternatives, and pursuing a swift and favourable resolution of matters.

3. Corporate lawyers

Corporate lawyers generally deal in commercial laws. They are responsible for ensuring business dealings adhere to corporate laws and rules. They generally work with law firms or companies’ legal teams. Corporate lawyers perform the following duties such as prepare the appropriate legal documents for trial or court proceedings, evaluate new business partnerships with vendors and subcontractors, represent the company in legal proceedings, design and oversee the company’s policy and position on legal matters, protect the company against legal risks and violations, etc.

4. Family lawyers

Family lawyers is a licensed legal practitioner who manages disputes among families. They deal in matters related to divorce, adoption, guardianship, and emancipation cases. They are responsible for overseeing family estates, monitoring mediation sessions, and offering legal advice.

5. Tax lawyers

Tax lawyers help their clients in resolving tax-related disputes. They may also work in the government sector or serve as corporate in-house counsel. They dispense the following legal duties such as to provide guidance on how to structurize the purchase and sale of a business by looking at the seller's debts, liabilities, finances and assets, monitor legislative developments and advise clients with respect to the potential impact of pending legislation on their businesses and their personal finances, etc.

6. Intellectual property lawyer

Intellectual property lawyers perform wide range of duties like drafting contracts and non-disclosure agreements that protect client’s intellectual property rights, representing clients in court cases when needed, negotiating settlements with opposing counsel on behalf of clients.

7. Cyber lawyers

Cyber lawyers deals with cases of cyber crimes like software piracy, hacking, cracking of software, credit card frauds, malfunction viruses, cyber-attacks & threats, etc. The main function of cyber lawyers is to investigate on a security breach violation, formulate reports to document security breaches and the degree of the damage caused, etc.

8. Environment lawyers

Environmental lawyers ensure that companies and individuals follow environmental laws. Environmental lawyers are responsible for a wide range of duties, including drafting contracts and business agreements, including leases, licenses, purchase agreements, and partnership agreements, communicating with clients, witnesses, regarding case details and strategies, negotiating settlements on behalf of their clients in cases it involves environmental damage claims.

9. Estate planning lawyer

Estate planning lawyers are experienced and licensed law professionals with a thorough understanding of the state and federal laws that affect how your estate will be valued, dispersed, and taxed after your death. In addition to educating you about the probate process, an estate planning attorney can assist you with the following tasks such as creating a will, designating your beneficiaries, establishing durable power of attorney and medical durable power of attorney, finding ways to reduce and avoid estate tax when possible, finding ways to avoid the probate court process etc.

10. Worker's compensation lawyer

Worker's compensation lawyers represent their clients involved in legal disputes regarding legal injuries sustained on the job, including both the workers and companies. They also negotiate settlements and ensure funds awarded by courts are actually paid. Worker's compensation lawyers may be called upon to argue on behalf of an injured worker seeking fair repayment or may defend companies in cases where someone is attempting to dishonestly take advantage of the benefits system. In addition to this they may help clients by providing them with legal advice in an effort to determine whether or not to go to court and engaging in negotiations with the other side in the event that a settlement agreement seems possible.

11. Public interest lawyers

12. Medical malpractice lawyer

A medical malpractice attorney helps clients with claims regarding injuries they suffer due to mistakes made by doctors, nurses, dentists, therapists, technicians, and other medical professionals and health care providers. Those mistakes can include surgical errors, birth trauma, injuries from inappropriate treatment methods, misdiagnoses, unnecessary delays in treatment, or a failure to get proper consent for treatment from a patient.

13. Mergers and acquisition lawyer

Merger and acquisition lawyer roles and responsibilities includes drafting the necessary contracts with all the parties involved in the business transaction, negotiating the best terms possible, and ensuring that all the documents are properly executed, and filed where appropriate. Some business deals will also require permission from regulatory authorities or other government entities. The legal issues that a merger and acquisition lawyer deal with are - human resource issues, financing and tax implications, regulatory agency concerns, intellectual property, indemnification issues etc.

14. Bankruptcy lawyer

Bankruptcy attorneys specialize in helping their clients use the court system to reduce or eliminate debts, file for bankruptcy, or seek unpaid debts. They can work with individuals or with businesses, representing debtors, creditors, creditors’ committees, or bankruptcy trustees. Bankruptcy attorneys work in and out of the courtroom, either creating debt restructuring plans for debtors to help them relieve debts or trying to extract as much owed money as possible from debtors on behalf of creditors.

15. Securities lawyer

Securities attorneys represent clients with respect to stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and other financial instruments. This work is primarily divided into three broad areas—transactional practice, regulatory practice, and litigation. Securities lawyers also frequently represent corporate clients in the transactional work involved with initial public offerings, private sales of securities, issuance of stock or other securities and mergers and acquisitions. In this capacity, they also assist companies in complying with securities laws and regulations, which ultimately serve to benefit consumers.

16. Military lawyers

Military lawyers also know as Judge Advocate General (JAG) offer military legal assistance, particularly, advice on military law to the presiding officers of court-martial. The duty of a military lawyer in their day-to-day roles is like a civilian lawyer. The main distinction is the representation of the client under military tribunals and legislation. The military officers deal with and can be represented in civil and criminal proceedings solely by military lawyers. JAG officers are equivalent to the rank of lieutenant and are masters in the application of Military Laws, from drafting to presenting the cases before the courts and military tribunals.

17. Labour lawyer

A labor attorney assists clients with legal issues arising from the relationship between employers and employees. They interpret and advise clients on wage and working hour laws, workplace safety, laws regarding rest and breaks, disability and leave requirements, workplace harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination. Labor attorneys can work for private firms, government agencies, labor unions, or on staff for companies, and can represent either employers or workers or both.

18. Contract lawyer

Contract lawyers specialize in drafting and reviewing legal contracts. These contracts can be for both businesses and individuals. Examples of business legal contracts include sales contracts, supplier contracts, nondisclosure agreements, partnership agreement, employment agreements and joint venture agreements. Examples of personal contracts include power of attorneys, residential leases, and home purchase agreements.

19. Government lawyers

A professional who works for the government is known as a government lawyer. They are trained certified lawyers who offers legal counsel to government ministers and administrative personnel. A government lawyer is in charge of addressing a variety of duties, including prosecuting criminal offences, making regulations, counselling local authorities, and resolving policy matters. In addition to advising government officials on a variety of legal matters, they also represents the government in court. They assists numerous government entities while also upholding local and municipal laws.

20. Immigration lawyers

The roles and responsibilities of an immigration lawyer includes giving clients legal advice on a range of topics linked to both legal and illegal immigration is one of an immigration lawyer's job duties. He or she aids in completing legal requirements for the issuance of work permits and different visas, such as medical, tourist, and business visas. He or she offers assistance to foreign persons who are unsure about their legal Indian citizenship or who need visas to enter the country.

Roles and Responsibilities of Lawyers

Here are some of the roles and responsibilities of different types of lawyers in India:

Advising Clients

One of the primary responsibilities of lawyers is to advise their clients on legal matters. Advising clients involves studying their cases, acquainting them with the relevant laws concerned with the case, and offering them guidance on what actions they should take to protect their legal rights. It is a duty of lawyer to inform their clients about the legal options they have, including risks, benefits and future outcomes.

Dealing with settlements

Many legal cases end in a settlement without the need for a full trial. In such cases, lawyers play an important role in negotiating between both parties. In settlement cases, lawyers are required to bring the dispute to an end quickly and effectively.

Representing clients in court

The biggest responsibility and role of a lawyer is to represent their clients in the court. Lawyers argue the cases of their clients in court present evidences in support of their client's case. Lawyers have the responsibility to make the judge understand the position of their client in the case. To represent their client in the court in the best manner, a lawyer must be aware of the relevant laws, court procedure and rules of evidence.

Drafting legal documents and conducting legal research

A lawyer is also responsible to draft legal documents such as contracts, wills and other legal documents. Furthermore, lawyers also need to draft legal documents to support their clients' case in court. Lawyers must also continuously conduct legal research as it is a big part of their job.

Types of Lawyers and Salaries in India