2. Common Law
3. Religions Law
4. Pluralistic Systems
5. Corporate Law
6. Intellectual Property Law
7. Constitutional Law
8. Criminal Law
9. Admiralty Law (Maritime Law)
10. Environmental Law
11. Health Care Law
Civil law is the most prevalent system of law throughout the world including much of Europe and South America. Authority is driven by core principles that are codified into a referable system. This may be a constitution or statute passed by a legislature. Civil law is also known as Continental European law.
Common Law
Common law is also known as case law or precedent. A decision made by a judge in a court of law binds future decisions to be made by the same reasoning. Lawyers and judges refer to decisions made in previous cases in order to make a point. About one-third of the world uses common law including the United States, Canada, and Australia.
Religious Law
Religious law uses a religious system or document as the source of the law. It is used in Vatican City and other religious states.
Pluralistic Systems
Pluralistic systems combine the aspects of two or more types of law. India, for example, combines civil, common, and religious law.
Corporate Law
The work of a corporate lawyer is related to the formation, operation, and dissolution of corporations. A corporate lawyer is responsible for helping to protect industry and commerce. Areas related to corporate law include:
- Articles of incorporation
- Contracts
- Taxes
- Securities and antitrust
- Licensing
- Zoning
- Intellectual property
- Labor, employment, and immigration
- Bankruptcy
Intellectual Property Law
Intangible assets such as discoveries, inventions, words, phrases, symbols, designs, and literary, musical, and artistic works can be protected by obtaining exclusive rights. Intellectual property lawyers acquire and enforce such protection. Intellectual property can be protected with patents, trademarks, and copyrights.
A patent gives exclusive rights to an inventor or assignee for a limited time period after details about the object are publicly filed. The term “patent pending” warns potential infringers that an application is in process. In the United States patents are issued by the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, which issued its 8,000,000th patent in 2011.
A trademark is a brand name and may consist of a word, name, symbol, or device used to distinguish an organisation’s products or services. It is indicated by the use of one of three symbols: TM, ?, or ®.
Copyright gives a creator the exclusive right to limit others from copying the work for a limited period of time. A copyright t is a personal property that can be willingly passed, bought, or sold by the owner. The copyright notice may be indicated by a symbol ©, the word “Copyright” or the abbreviation “Copr.” Sound recording copyright is indicated with a symbol ?.
Some patent lawyers have undergraduate degrees in science or engineering to better understand the products or services being protected.
Constitutional Law
This body of law deals with interpretation and understanding of the Constitution. Constitutional laws govern the relationships between the judicial, legislative and executive branches of government. Human rights may be covered under this type of law by a bill of rights.
Criminal Law
A criminal lawyer defends or prosecutes those who have committed crimes. There are serious potential consequences for a person accused of committing a crime.
Admiralty Law (Maritime Law)
This type of law deals with the regulation of navigation and shipping. Included are marine commerce, shipping, navigation, sailors, and the transportation of goods or services by sea.
Environmental Law
The goal of environmental law is to reduce the impact of human activity. It stems from federal enactments passed in 1970 that require agencies and businesses to protect the environment. International treaties (conventions), statues, regulations, and other legislation operate to regulate environmental law. Two aspects of environmental law are:
- Pollution control and remediation
- Resource conservation
Health Care Law
Health care law serves to maintain public health. This type of law deals with issues including medical malpractice and patient rights.