<p>Please no "well, it all depends on..." posts. I know it "all depends". Just give me your opinions. What areas of law do you think are the best (in terms of work stress, competitiveness, relevance or need, etc) and the worst in terms of law? </p>
<p>I've heard that adoption law or and probate law aren't all that contentious, but family and criminal law are pretty tough.</p>
<p>I think I'd like IP law (trademark and copyright) and corporate/securities. Particularly because it's probably one of the most complex areas of law, something that I could just dive into for days on end. Family/divorce/probate are messy, too many tears, too much emotion. It would impede my ability to give legal counsel because of all the emotion in family law.</p>
<p>Litigation is often stressful, as your workload is often dictated by the actions of adversaries who may enjoy making life difficult for you.</p>
<p>The most adversarial attorneys I have personally known were IP litigators. I've managed three major IP lcases for a high tech company; in two of them, the opposing litigators loathed each other. In the third, the litigation teams had a lot of genuine respect for each other, while zealously looking out for their respective clients' interests.</p>
<p>And yes, I'm talking about transactional, not litigation.</p>
<p>bump… i’m interested</p>
<p>Real estate closings and real estate law have to be the most boring areas of the law ever invented. Next would be will drafting and estate planning.</p>
<p>The best areas of the law depends on the attorney’s preference. Domestic relations law is often very stressful when minor children are involved and the parties are fighting to the death. The lawyers in those cases often don’t like each other very much.</p>
<p>bump. interesting</p>
<p>An attorney i know was in family law for a while and hated it, lots of drama.</p>
<p>Despite the OP’s request not to state that it all depends, the answer is indeed that it all depends. Sorry, but that is just reality.</p>
<p>For every area of law that one attorney absolutely loves and finds challenging, stimulating and interesting on a daily basis, there is likely another attorney who feels exactly the opposite way, and vice versa.</p>
<p>I am a corporate lawyer, practicing in the areas of M&A, securities, finance, private equity and commercial transactions, and I know that other attorneys who frequent this board, like greybeard, might find what I do incredibly tedious and boring. On the other hand, I would find being a litigator, arguing motions and writing briefs terribly boring, while obviously that type of practice is incredibly interesting and challenging to many others. Choosing the best/worst areas of law is highly subjective.</p>