The kind of lawyer you need to sue someone depends on what you’re suing over. A car crash claim goes to a personal injury attorney. A firing that felt discriminatory goes to an employment lawyer. A custody dispute goes to a family law specialist. Picking the wrong specialty wastes money and, worse, risks missing deadlines and procedural steps that quietly end cases before they start. Below is a plain guide to which attorney handles which dispute, what each one typically costs, and the filing traps that catch people who wait too long or hire the wrong person.
Personal Injury Lawyers
If someone’s carelessness hurt you physically, a personal injury attorney is the right call. They handle car accidents, slip-and-fall incidents, dog bites, defective products, and similar claims. To win, your attorney has to prove the other side owed you a duty of care, broke that duty, caused your injury, and left you with real losses. Those losses usually cover medical bills, lost income, and compensation for pain and lasting physical limitations.
Most personal injury attorneys work on contingency. You pay nothing upfront, and the lawyer collects a percentage of your recovery only if you win or settle. That percentage usually falls between 33% and 40%, with the lower end for cases that settle before suit is filed and the higher end for cases that go to trial. If you lose, you generally owe nothing for the attorney’s time, though you may still owe out-of-pocket costs like filing fees or expert witness charges.
Medical Malpractice Is Its Own Specialty
Medical malpractice sits inside personal injury law but carries extra hoops. Roughly half the states require a “certificate of merit” or affidavit of merit filed with your complaint. A qualified medical expert has to review your records and confirm in writing that your doctor or hospital likely fell below the accepted standard of care. In states like Delaware and Connecticut, the court clerk won’t accept your complaint without this affidavit. A lawyer who handles malpractice regularly knows the rule; a general personal injury attorney may not.
Employment Lawyers
Employment attorneys represent workers in disputes over wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, unpaid wages, and leave rights. Federal statutes like the Fair Labor Standards Act govern minimum wage and overtime, while anti-discrimination laws cover race, sex, disability, age, religion, and other protected characteristics.1U.S. Department of Labor. Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act A successful Americans with Disabilities Act claim, for instance, can win back pay, reinstatement, reasonable accommodations, and attorneys’ fees.2U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The ADA: Your Employment Rights as an Individual With a Disability
Here’s where people trip. For most federal discrimination claims, you can’t just file a lawsuit. You first file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The deadline is 180 days from the discriminatory act, extended to 300 days if your state has an agency enforcing a similar law, which most do.3U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits for Filing a Charge After investigation, the EEOC issues a “right to sue” letter, and you then have 90 days to file in federal court. Miss either window and the claim is dead no matter how strong it was. Two narrow exceptions: Equal Pay Act and Age Discrimination in Employment Act claims can go straight to court without a right-to-sue letter.
Family Law Attorneys
Family law attorneys handle divorce, child custody, spousal support, property division, and adoption. If children are involved, courts across the country apply a “best interests of the child” standard, weighing each parent’s living situation, the child’s established routines, and the quality of each parent-child relationship. A family law attorney builds your case around those factors and helps you avoid missteps that judges punish, like badmouthing the other parent in documented communications.
Property division is the other main battleground. Marital assets can include retirement accounts, real estate, and business interests, and the split depends on whether your state follows community property rules or equitable distribution principles. A lawyer practicing in your jurisdiction knows which assets are up for division and which ones you can protect.
Business and Contract Dispute Lawyers
When a business partner breaks a contract, a vendor fails to deliver, or a competitor steals your trade secrets, you need a business litigation attorney. They handle breach of contract claims, partnership disputes, shareholder conflicts, fraud allegations, and unfair competition, interpreting contract language, calculating damages, and working within commercial law frameworks like the Uniform Commercial Code.4Legal Information Institute. UCC Article 2 – Sales
One warning before you assume you’re going to court: many business contracts contain mandatory arbitration clauses that block lawsuits entirely. Your attorney needs to read any contract you signed with the other party before planning a strategy. Arbitration can be faster than litigation, but it also limits appeals and may require you to split the arbitrator’s fees. Courts enforce these clauses more often than they strike them.
Real Estate Attorneys
Real estate disputes cover boundary disagreements with neighbors, landlord-tenant conflicts, title defects discovered after purchase, zoning violations, and construction defect claims. A real estate attorney runs title searches, reviews purchase agreements, and represents you in disputes over property rights. Landlords with problem tenants and tenants facing illegal evictions both end up here.
Homeowners facing foreclosure turn to real estate attorneys too. A foreclosure defense lawyer examines whether the lender followed proper procedures, looks for errors in loan documents that create leverage, and can negotiate a loan modification that reduces the interest rate or extends the term. While a modification application is under review, foreclosure proceedings are typically paused.
Consumer Protection Attorneys
If a company deceived you through false advertising, sold you a dangerous product, or ran a predatory lending scheme, a consumer protection attorney handles that fight. Federal law prohibits unfair or deceptive business practices, enforced nationally by the Federal Trade Commission.5Federal Trade Commission. Federal Trade Commission Act Every state also has its own consumer protection statute, and many state laws offer stronger remedies than federal law, including automatic damages multipliers and mandatory attorneys’ fee awards when consumers win.
These cases can be individual or class-wide. If a company’s deceptive practice harmed thousands of people the same way, a consumer attorney may pursue a class action, pooling everyone’s claims into a single suit. Class settlements can be large, though individual payouts are often modest after fees and administrative costs. For larger individual losses, a solo claim under your state’s consumer protection law is usually the better path.
Intellectual Property Attorneys
Intellectual property attorneys protect four categories: patents (inventions), trademarks (brand names and logos), copyrights (creative works), and trade secrets (confidential business information). If someone is using your trademark without permission, copying your software, or stealing proprietary formulas, an IP attorney handles enforcement.
Litigation isn’t always the first step. IP disputes often begin with a cease and desist letter, a formal demand that the infringer stop. The letter has no legal force on its own, but it creates a paper trail that strengthens your position in later litigation and gives the other side a chance to comply without the expense of a lawsuit. When the letter doesn’t work, IP attorneys file in federal court and negotiate licensing deals that may let the other party continue using your intellectual property in exchange for royalties.
Special Rules for Suing the Government
Suing a government entity is different from suing a private party, and this is where viable claims die most often. The federal government, state governments, and local municipalities all have sovereign immunity, meaning they can’t be sued unless they’ve waived that immunity through specific statutes. Even where they have, procedural rules are stricter and deadlines are shorter.
To sue the federal government for negligence, you follow the Federal Tort Claims Act. Before any lawsuit, you must submit a written administrative claim to the responsible federal agency within two years of when the claim accrues, stating a specific dollar amount for your damages.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 2401 – Time for Commencing Action Against United States7eCFR. 28 CFR Part 14 – Administrative Claims Under Federal Tort Claims Act If the agency denies your claim, you have six months from the denial letter to file in federal district court. If the agency sits on it longer than six months without acting, you can treat the silence as a denial and file.8GovInfo. 28 U.S. Code 2675 – Disposition by Federal Agency as Prerequisite
State and local governments impose their own notice-of-claim requirements, and the deadlines are often shockingly short. Many states require a formal notice within 30 to 90 days of the incident, far shorter than the statute of limitations for the same claim against a private party. Miss the window and your lawsuit is barred regardless of its merit. An attorney experienced in government liability knows your jurisdiction’s specific rules.
Deadlines That Can End Your Case Before It Starts
Every lawsuit has a statute of limitations, a hard deadline after which you lose the right to sue no matter how strong the evidence. The window varies by claim type and state. Personal injury claims typically run one to six years, with two or three being most common. Breach of contract claims range from as few as two years for oral contracts to as many as 15 years for certain written agreements.9Justia. Civil Statutes of Limitations 50-State Survey
The clock usually starts on the date you were injured or the date the contract was breached. In cases where the harm wasn’t immediately obvious, like toxic exposure or a surgical error discovered years later, courts apply a “discovery rule” that delays the start date until you knew or reasonably should have known about the injury and its cause. Certain circumstances can also pause the clock: the injured person being a minor, the defendant leaving the state, or a bankruptcy filing intervening. These extensions are narrow and fact-specific. Don’t assume one applies without checking.
The most dangerous deadlines are the ones people don’t know about. Government notices of claim can expire in as little as 30 days. EEOC charges must be filed within 180 or 300 days.3U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits for Filing a Charge Medical malpractice limitations periods are sometimes shorter than those for other personal injury cases. The best reason to consult an attorney early, even before you’ve decided to sue, is to make sure you haven’t already run out of time.
When Small Claims Court Is Enough
Not every dispute requires a lawyer. Small claims courts handle straightforward money disputes, and in most states you can represent yourself. These courts typically cap claims between $2,500 and $25,000, with $5,000 to $10,000 being the most common range. The rules are simplified, hearings are faster, and filing fees are low. Common small claims cases include security deposit disputes, unpaid debts, fender-bender damage, and refunds for shoddy goods or services.
Small claims has limits. You can only ask for money, not court orders forcing someone to do or stop doing something. You can’t bring complex claims with multiple legal theories. Some states limit or prohibit attorney involvement entirely. If your dispute exceeds the cap, involves overlapping legal issues, or requires injunctive relief, you’ll need to hire an attorney and file in regular civil court.
How Attorneys Charge
Understanding fee structures before you hire prevents sticker shock later. Attorneys generally bill in one of three ways, and the method often depends on the type of case.
- Contingency fees. The attorney takes a percentage of your recovery, typically 33% to 40%, and charges nothing if you lose. This structure dominates personal injury and some employment cases. You may still owe separate costs for filing fees, depositions, and expert witnesses even if the case fails.
- Hourly rates. You pay for the attorney’s time at a set rate. In 2025 the national average was around $317 per hour, with rates roughly $200 to $500 depending on location, specialty, and experience. Attorneys usually require an upfront retainer, a deposit held in trust and drawn down as work is billed. Some arrangements require replenishment when the retainer drops below a set minimum.
- Flat fees. A single price for a defined task, such as drafting a contract, handling an uncontested divorce, or filing a trademark application. Flat fees work for predictable work but are uncommon in litigation, where scope is hard to estimate.
Beyond the attorney’s fee, expect separate charges for filing fees, process server costs, deposition transcripts, photocopying, and expert witnesses. These can add up quickly in complex cases, and some attorneys require you to cover them as they arise rather than advancing them. Ask about cost responsibility during your first meeting.
Finding and Vetting the Right Attorney
Once you know which specialty you need, make sure the specific person you hire is competent and a good fit. Start with your state bar association’s website. Every state maintains a directory where you can verify licensure and good standing, and most states let you search public disciplinary records including suspensions and disbarments.
Use the initial consultation to ask pointed questions. How long has the attorney practiced in this specific area? How many cases like yours have they handled in the past year? Will they personally work on your case or hand it to a junior associate? How will they communicate updates, and how quickly should you expect responses? Any attorney worth hiring answers these directly.
If you can’t afford one, you have options. Legal aid organizations provide free representation to people with low incomes, and most states run volunteer lawyer projects that match eligible clients with pro bono attorneys. Law school clinics, staffed by students supervised by professors, handle certain case types at no cost. Your local bar association can point you to these resources. Don’t let cost stop you from at least learning whether you have a viable claim.