Can a criminal attorney handle a divorce?
I know that there is criminal law, civil law, family law, environmental law, etc.
My question is about criminal attorneys (say a defense lawyer). If a defense attorney wanted to take on your case, couldn’t they handle a divorce?
It wouldn’t be like a real estate lawyer trying to be a defense attorney, Buy Xenical Online and it’s a whole different level of expertise. I think it is quite possibly, but one person that I know, who don’t know anything about law is being obnoxious about it…saying that it is as likely as a psychiatrist doing a gyno exam (I didn’t mean to be rude by repeating what she said)
I was hoping someone here could have the answer so that I could let her know whether she was right or wrong.
Thanks
Tagged with: Civil Law • Criminal Attorney • Psychiatrist • Real Estate Lawyer
Filed under: Attorney FAQ
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Would you go to a butcher to get your spleen removed?
Ask for an attorney that specializes in divorce
Yes a criminal attorney can handle a divorce case. In many small towns, there are few lawyers, so they handle just about anything. When we go to law school and pass the bar exam, we do not specialize in any area. In fact, most state’s code of ethics do not permit an attorney to advertise as a specialist in one area of the law. They may emphasize an area of practice, but that would be it.
So if you need a defense lawyer, I would advise you get a defense lawyer. If you need a divorce, get a divorce lawyer. That way you aren’t paying the lawyer to learn what he or she has missed while being focused in another area.
Yes they could. They are licensed to practice law of any sort in your state.
OTOH, they may not be qualified to do a great job for you because they don’t work with the nuances everyday.
Some divorces are quite simple, and don’t even really need a lawyer, but some can be incredibly complex from the standpoint of the legal issues involved.
So it depends – are they licensed to help? Yes. Are they qualified to do the best possible job according to the ethics of the profession? Depends on the circumstances.
Actually, there’s only one license for an attorney — and an attorney, regardless of his specialty, can practice in ANY area of the law (a real estate attorney CAN handle a criminal defense case).
If the criminal defense attorney felt comfortable handling a divorce, and wanted to take the case, sure — he could — so could a probate attorney, or a real estate attorney, or even a tax or corporate attorney.
If they’re licensed to practice law (which all attorneys have to be), they can take a case — regardless of type . . . if they want to.
You need a family law attorney, not a criminal attorney. If your not interesting in winning in your divorce, then go with her.
Sure. Most attorneys have more than one speciality. Especially in small to mid-sized cities an attorney would be foolish to limit herself to one area of practice. It’s comman for a criminal client to ask her attorney to handle a custody action at the same time, for example, and if there’s no conflict, do it all in the same year. An uncontested divorce is not a complex area of the law requiring reams of expertise. Your high paid divorce specialists are having their legal assistants copy and paste your name into their forms and charging you twice as much.
I would look at it like you wouldnt want a ear nose and throat doctor to do a vasectomy…would you..? Both are doctors, right? They specialize in a particular field so they can be better at what they do. Oh, they could prolly do it alright, but most people want someone that can do the best possible job. Especially when they are paying them for their services. Make sense>? Hope I helped…..
Yes, a criminal attorney can handle a divorce but why would you want to do that? Get a divorce lawyer whose specialty is the divorce laws. And whatever you do…..do not let your almost ex talk you into using his attorney or you will get screwed good.
As b8k3p poster wrote there is just one type of license and regardless of the speciality they can practice in any area. If you have a simple divorce I do not think it is a big deal, but if your case involves a number of assets and there is bickering/fighting going on and especially if there are children involved I would really go to an attorney who specializes in this area. Again, if it is a simple divorce then I do not think it’s a big deal that his speciality is in criminal law.
I don’t know that ALL of them are criminals. Keep looking. You will find one.
It depends on the attorney. Many general practitioners handle criminal cases, family law (divorce, support), personal injury cases and even some trust and estate work (wills).
For a time I handled both criminal matters and family law matters. I would not do either now, simply because I do not have the time or desire. Many attorneys develop specialties or areas of focus over time. They stick to their areas of expertise and for those that specialize in criminal matters, they may choose to do only criminal matters. This is not to say that a generalist cannot be a good attorney. Many general practitioners are excellent.
For most states, the only limitation on what areas an attorney can practice in is the attorney’s own judgment of competence. One of the rare exceptions is patent law which requires a special certification.