Top Law Schools

?

are we talking "need" or "market value"

yes. both.

I'm curious about market value. Need is interesting too...if those who need it have loads of money.

If you've got an engineering background, you really can't go wrong with IP (even from some lesser ranked schools if it has a good IP program).

I would guess that the area of greatest "need" would be public service law for obvious reasons; and I would say health law, IP and business law maybe for greatest demand. It all depends on where you got your degree though-- a business lawyer from a t14 = huge demand.

I think OP means which type brings in the most $$$

legends159 wrote:I think OP means which type brings in the most $$$

he said both.

Maybe this is obvious, but Bankruptcy is in great demand. It's an interesting practice area because it combings transactional (crunching numbers and working with companies' financials) and litigation (going to bankruptcy court and advocating on your client's behalf). Family law is also an area that is weathering the economic storm happening right now.

In a much broader sense, litigation in general has stayed stronger throught he crisis than transactional positions, though this statement is much too broad to hold true in every specific area of litigation and transactional practice.

And the practice areas hurt most? One would have to be all the real estate-related transactional practices (real estate transactions, land use, etc.).

wes_henricksen wrote:Maybe this is obvious, but Bankruptcy is in great demand. It's an interesting practice area because it combings transactional (crunching numbers and working with companies' financials) and litigation (going to bankruptcy court and advocating on your client's behalf).

Do bankruptcy attys make much money off their broke clients?

Mitsunobu wrote:

wes_henricksen wrote:Maybe this is obvious, but Bankruptcy is in great demand. It's an interesting practice area because it combings transactional (crunching numbers and working with companies' financials) and litigation (going to bankruptcy court and advocating on your client's behalf).

Do bankruptcy attys make much money off their broke clients?

correct me if i'm wrong, but aren't they the first people to get paid? (before creditors, etc.)

.

wes_henricksen wrote:Maybe this is obvious, but Bankruptcy is in great demand. It's an interesting practice area because it combings transactional (crunching numbers and working with companies' financials) and litigation (going to bankruptcy court and advocating on your client's behalf). Family law is also an area that is weathering the economic storm happening right now.

In a much broader sense, litigation in general has stayed stronger throught he crisis than transactional positions, though this statement is much too broad to hold true in every specific area of litigation and transactional practice.

And the practice areas hurt most? One would have to be all the real estate-related transactional practices (real estate transactions, land use, etc.).

It's my understanding that bankruptcy and family law tend to see pretty stable growth regardless of the economy, while corporate litigation and IP are currently growing rapidly.

I have been hearing that divorces are slowing down now that people have no money to pay for it. Or, they can't sell their house to split the value. But I'm not a fan of divorce (who is), so I won't be doing that type of law.

There's always a need for attorneys who care more about the greater good than personal wealth. But there's also a pretty good reason for that, so that demand probably won't ever diminish.

I think the following is a pretty decent ranking of money-to-need:

1. Tax law. Pays off huge. No one wants to do it, either, so there are big openings.
2. Bankruptcy, as previously mentioned.
3. Estates and trusts. People always need wills, prenups, etc. and usually the people getting these documents aren't poor.
4. Family law (ALWAYS growing).
5. IP and Contract law -- big business is becoming more and more IP and Contract as the intarwebz booms.
6. Governmental agencies, especially those dealing in public interest. Doesn't pay well, but the market is always there.

Did I miss any biggies, guys?

red_sox wrote:

Mitsunobu wrote:

wes_henricksen wrote:Maybe this is obvious, but Bankruptcy is in great demand. It's an interesting practice area because it combings transactional (crunching numbers and working with companies' financials) and litigation (going to bankruptcy court and advocating on your client's behalf).

Do bankruptcy attys make much money off their broke clients?

Yes - the lawyers get paid before anyone else

Lawyers usually work on retainer. They do not incur substantial attorney fees without getting the money up front. Bankruptcy attorneys do not, as far as I know, have any more trouble finding paying clients than other types of attorneys. All clients hagle over the final bill. But that is something attorneys have to worry about regardless of their practice area.

What about international law in terms of globalization?

TKO99 wrote:What about international law in terms of globalization?

International law per se does not exist in the real world. It is only a component of other types of law - tax law, M&A, bankruptcy, etc...

In relation to bankruptcy law:
Creditor's Rights Law

I work at a specialty firm, and our case load has tripled in the past two months. We are suing almost all of the big names (and many small ones) that have filed bankruptcy.

IP tends to do well in down cycles, because clients want to enforce the rights the've already invested in, even if R&D may slow down.

Bankruptcy, as mentioned, is the big one right now. Tax will do well, too - it's a time for people and entities to try to realize losses in the most beneficial way possible from a tax perspective.

M&As are very slow, as is real estate.

There's a reason why Weil and Skadden minted money this year.

IP tends to do well in down cycles, because clients want to enforce the rights the've already invested in, even if R&D may slow down.

Yeah. I've heard this, but I'm not sure if it's true. The fortune 500 company that I work for sent out a memo last month saying that our patent prosecution will be cut by 40% next year. You might be surpised how much junk we patent, i.e. ridiculous defensive patents, off the wall patents that we'll never practice, things that we'd like to practice but are prohibitively expensive, things that don't really work and were never challenged by the patent office, etc. At least in my company patent prosecution could be cut significantly without interfering with our business.

.

carrowd3 wrote:

IP tends to do well in down cycles, because clients want to enforce the rights the've already invested in, even if R&D may slow down.

Yeah. I've heard this, but I'm not sure if it's true. The fortune 500 company that I work for sent out a memo last month saying that our patent prosecution will be cut by 40% next year. You might be surpised how much junk we patent, i.e. ridiculous defensive patents, off the wall patents that we'll never practice, things that we'd like to practice but are prohibitively expensive, things that don't really work and were never challenged by the patent office, etc. At least in my company patent prosecution could be cut significantly without interfering with our business.

It isn't true. Head over to intelproplaw.com and read the postings concerning the current economic downturn, nobody is immune. Companies will stop filing defensive patents (and stop trolling, too), which probably accounts for 50% of the work IP firms do, if not more.