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published April 14, 2008
Michael Swarz
<<Please note that these popular practice areas depend on numerous variables such as the local economy, new law, and level of enforcement and are always subject to change. In addition, the rankings of these practice areas are simply predictions based upon local economic/law firm information found online at the U.S. Census Bureau website, Martindale.com, Mass.gov, MassEconomy.org, and Wikipedia.org.
1. Litigation: Litigation has always reigned supreme in Pennsylvania. Careers in Pennsylvania litigation law range impressively from pharmaceutical suits to asbestos actions to derivatives lawsuits, with employment opportunities available throughout. In addition, many Pennsylvania litigation firms now focus their practices on underwriters and auditors.
2. Finance: With Philadelphia and Pittsburgh playing key roles, there is much work to be done in this hot legal field. Pennsylvania finance law tends to offer careers in banking, bankruptcy, and general litigation.
3. Corporate: Pennsylvania corporate law centers around business formation, regulatory compliance, shareholder rights, and, of course, mergers and acquisitions. Keep an eye out for employment listings involving emerging private equity and fiduciary responsibility issues as well.
4. Employment: Anchored by the City of Brotherly Love's ever-changing economy, Pennsylvania employment law stands tall and offers an array of job possibilities. As of late there has been a spike in employment law when it comes to careers dealing with discrimination lawsuits of any type as well as sexual harassment actions.
5. Healthcare: In Pennsylvania, HMO, coverage, and premium issues dominate the healthcare landscape. There are many jobs in this exciting field. In addition, careers connected to fraud and collection legal issues are on the rise.
6. Technology: There has been a noticeable increase in the number of successful high-technology law firms in Pennsylvania as of late. Many of these law firms have employment opportunities connected to local energy industries.
7. Tax: The focus of Pennsylvania tax law has always been related to the corporate and finance practice areas noted above. Consequently, be on the lookout for firms and businesses with jobs revolving around direct links to those areas.
8. Government: Government legal opportunities continue to appear in Pennsylvania. This sector includes specific federal and local administrative laws as well as many zoning issues. Locally, specifically at the city level, there are many legal jobs centered on the government.
9. Bankruptcy: With countless businesses calling Pennsylvania home, there is never a shortage of work in this growing area of law. Chapter 13, counter-claims, and dischargeability legal careers are the leading bankruptcy subcategories in Pennsylvania.
10. Intellectual Property: Legal work within intellectual property in the Keystone State has been dominated recently by copyright and trademark firms. An influx of cyberspace law firms have also made their presence felt. These Internet-related law firms usually offer a good number of employment possibilities relating to the ever-popular and ever-evolving advertising, licensing, and trade secrets niches.
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