4 Niche Areas of Law You Didn't Know About

When you picture a lawyer in a courtroom, what do you imagine them doing?

Maybe you see them defending a victim of a violent crime, or maybe they’re trying to settle a divorce case. That’s because these are legal matters we commonly see depicted in television dramas or that gain national attention on the news. But there are plenty of niche areas of law that you might not be as familiar with.

Every bit of law, niche or otherwise, is necessary because the citizens of society say it is necessary, and that is the crux that the legal system revolves around—protecting those it serves. With that said, you may still stumble across entire legal factions dedicated to things you had never even considered.

Water Rights Law

Anyone who’s ever fished recreationally knows marine law to be an established area of practice, as there are plenty of boating and species-specific rules to prove it.

In addition to those protections, there is a separate niche area of law for water as a resource. This can be considered a subcategory of property law. However, the fact that water is not just a resource, but a human right, calls for special expertise.

This legal area is constructed specifically for water in bodies such as lakes, ponds, rivers, runoff from those bodies or rain, and groundwater specifically in aquifers. A water rights attorney might be necessary for situations that involve contaminated groundwater, well sharing, utility disputes, or poor tap water quality.

Porch Collapse Law

Especially if you live in a state prone to natural disasters, you know a thing or two about property damage law. But did you know that there’s a specific legal niche for porch collapses?

If a porch or balcony has been poorly built from the start, is carrying too much weight, or has become rusted or rotted over time, it can collapse, injuring anyone standing below or above it. These injuries can be as minor as a few bruises, or they can even be fatal, depending on the situation.

Is a porch, deck, or balcony collapse the fault of the property owner who didn’t maintain it or the contractor who built it? Because determining liability in these cases can be difficult, specialty attorneys are often needed. In the city of Chicago, KFF Law is one such legal firm that practices this niche and works to ensure that the responsible entities are held accountable.

Information Technology (IT) Law

As the internet has developed and grown at an exponential rate, there are new legal issues arising every day. Also called “cyberlaw”, you probably encounter this type of niche on a daily basis – those terms agreements and privacy policy updates that you tap “I accept” on without actually reading them? That’s an example of cyberlaw.

Issues relating to internet privacy and freedom of online speech are handled by IT law specialists. When e-commerce businesses fail to protect your information, information technology lawyers are the ones who help clean up the mess and hold the business accountable.

Tiny House Law

The tiny house craze has swept the nation in the last few years as more people look to slash their square footage and live minimalist lifestyles. But did you know that there’s an entire legal niche devoted to tiny houses?

Real estate attorneys are having to become tiny house specialists as the trend maintains its popularity – part of that job involves being able to find loopholes in residential code that allow for these pint-sized residencies to be built. Believe it or not, the smaller the house, the bigger the legal obstacles!

Final Considerations

To those who aren’t in the legal field, the world of law can seem awfully complex and confusing – and they’d be right. But by breaking down the legal field into specific niches, attorneys are able to specialize and become experts in one or several particular areas.