A career in criminal law can be lucrative and rewarding. When you practice it, you defend the rights of people caught in the U.S. government’s crosshairs.
While not all of your clients will be innocent of what they are accused of doing, without people like you, those who are would fall prey to the criminal justice system. You also get the privilege of protecting guilty parties from unfair sentences.
Regardless of how much you may want to help those facing prosecution, it isn’t reasonably possible for one attorney to focus on every part of the criminal law spectrum. There are thousands — if not tens of thousands — of different criminal offenses out there.
To be effective in your profession, then, you must focus your practice on areas where you best understand relevant laws. Keep in mind that these career paths are not mutually exclusive. You may be able to be able to handle many of these types of cases in your practice. Here is a list of options for you:
DUI Defense
In Indiana, for example, drunk driving accounted for 11.4% of all arrests in 2022. This means that defense attorneys experienced in DUI cases often don’t have trouble finding clients.
However, it is also one of the more difficult crimes to work with as a defense lawyer. DUI laws in most states make it very challenging to successfully defend clients, especially if they failed a breathalyzer test. Highly successful DUI lawyers often need to learn the exact scientific details of how breathalyzer tests work.
Misdemeanor Crimes
The advantage of handling primarily misdemeanor crimes is that they usually involve less complicated issues. The disadvantage is that you won’t make as much money from defending people against them.
Many misdemeanors involve relatively minor fines and an almost trivial risk of jail time. It is unreasonable to charge more than a few hundred dollars when the difference between a minimum sentence and a maximum sentence isn’t particularly meaningful.
Juvenile Crimes
Juvenile courts are very different from traditional courts. Children face unique standards and punishments, and even courtroom procedures are different.
Furthermore, attorneys who handle juvenile crimes aren’t likely to get rich from this practice area. While you may have an occasional wealthy client, most of the kids who go through juvenile court are not particularly well off. If you care about protecting children and don’t care much about money, this may be the practice area for you.
Drug Crimes
If you think a lot of people are arrested every year for driving under the influence, you will be suitably impressed by the number of annual drug crime arrests. In 2020, there were 1.16 million drug arrests, and that number was unusually low. In all of the previous 10 years, at least 1.5 million people were arrested for drug crimes.
Thus, drug crimes are a good practice area if you’re looking for a large number of clients. Drug crimes are often charged as felonies but can be pleaded down to misdemeanors. This gives drug crime lawyers a lot of potential to make a reputation for themselves in the field.
White Collar And Business Crimes
These types of crimes are typically not very flashy. They often involve the manipulation of data or fraud rather than some kind of physical violence. This means that lawyers in this field either need to have a finance background or receive extra training in it.
White-collar cases also frequently last for long lengths of time. It may take you months — or even years — to examine enough financial records to prove that your client is innocent of what they’ve been accused of. Typically, little of this time is spent in a courtroom.
Lawyers in the field may also act proactively to protect their clients. You could be hired to consult on decisions to ensure that a business doesn’t accidentally violate any laws. The advantage of acting in this role is that you are paid for your services even when the company isn’t under indictment.
Trial Lawyer
Any charges can potentially go to trial. However, the vast majority of cases are resolved before ever entering a courtroom. Some lawyers, however, prefer the excitement of arguing their cases in front of a jury. If this sounds like you, being a trial lawyer is likely the right career path.
The biggest advantage of being a trial lawyer is that it is much easier to build a reputation than when practicing other areas of the law. Trial lawyers often end up in the news, especially after a big case. Conversely, you are also risking your reputation by being a trial lawyer. Losing a high-profile case can be the type of hit on your reputation that you never fully recover from.
Federal Crimes
One of the big decisions you will have to make as an attorney is whether to focus on state or federal crimes. While many federal crimes are similar to state crimes, the devil is in the details. To successfully defend against federal crimes, you need to be familiar with the specifics of federal law. A lawyer who doesn’t understand those differences will often fail in their defense.
One of the other advantages of this practice area is that you get to travel a lot. If you defend against federal crimes, you can usually practice equally well in any federal court in the country. Thus, lawyers who enjoy traveling may want to consider this career path.
Appeals
This is an interesting area of law because lawyers who focus on appeals will often handle cases on appeal that they never touched during the initial trial. If you choose appeal work, you need to be able to quickly research a case and understand what happened the first time around.
You also need to know the subtle nuances of the law. Many appeals cases hinge on specific details that could easily be overlooked by trial lawyers and even judges.
You Don’t Need To Choose Right Away
Picking a specific area of criminal law isn’t a choice you need to make right away. Many lawyers work for a few years at a boutique firm to get a feel for different practice areas. Once you have a better understanding of what each option entails, you will find it easier to choose a career path.
You Don’t Need To Choose Right Away
Picking a specific area of criminal law isn’t a choice you need to make right away. Many lawyers work for a few years at a boutique firm to get a feel for different practice areas. Once you have a better understanding of what each option entails, you will find it easier to choose a career path.