Law school electives that will prepare you to practice in any number of legal fields.

Our law
specializations list highlights some of the most popular types of law. Investigate options you may not
have previously considered and choose your electives accordingly.

Popular Fields of Law

Admiralty Law

Business Law

Constitutional Law

Criminal Law

Environmental Law

First Amendment Law

Health Care Law

Intellectual Property Law

Joint Degree Programs

Patent Law

Admiralty Law

Also referred to as maritime law, admiralty law covers such topics as shipping, navigation, waters,
insurance, canals — and even piracy.

Unlike many other law specialties, admiralty law has a very distinctive niche. It is now under the
jurisdiction of the federal district courts. The courts state that the ship's flag determines the source
country of the law, which means each country is allowed to rule over their own ships and seamen,
regardless of the waters (although U.S. courts may refuse to honor another country's law).

Business Law

Business law deals with any aspect of the law having to do with industry and commerce — from taxes
and liability to licensing and trademarking. This extremely wide section of the law forks off into
numerous areas of expertise.
Small-business law

often focuses on the kind of legal counsel needed during the early years of a business, such as tax
classifications, hiring employees, and the proper zoning and licensing needed to start a business.

Corporate law

is more likely to deal with the financial and structural status of an established company, as well as the
provision of legal advice on day-to-day dealings.

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Constitutional Law

Often considered one of the most broad and involved branches of law, constitutional law requires a
deep understanding of the U.S. Constitution in order to understand its every possible interpretation and
implementation.

This topic of law is designed to preserve the relationships between state and federal governments (as
well as the internal relationships) and protect the rights of the individual as well. Constitutional law
draws heavily from rulings made in the Supreme Court.

Criminal Law

Criminal law revolves around governmental prosecution of anyone who is purported to have committed
a criminal act, as defined by public law. An act cannot be classified as a crime if no precedent has been
set by either governmental statute or common law, and suits between two individuals or organizations
are considered to be civil, rather than criminal cases.

Environmental Law

Environmental law mostly stems from a group of federal enactments passed in 1970 that forced
agencies and businesses to take into account the effect of their practices on the environment. The
enactments set into effect laws and standards that would protect the environment from public and
private actions.

First Amendment Law

First Amendment law focuses on protecting citizens' rights to freedom of speech, religion, press, and
assembly against law enacted by Congress.

Litigation is made possible by the First Amendment's right to petition the government for a redress of
grievances. First Amendment cases have covered everything from book burning to prayer in schools to
Internet pornography.

Health Care Law

Since it is primarily the state's duty to maintain public health, most heath laws and regulations are state-
based. Federal health law centers on the Department of Health and Human Services, which is ultimately
in charge of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Health care law practice can also cover medical
malpractice, licensure, patient rights a