A law firm is a business that is composed of one or more lawyers and was formed with the intention to practice law and provide legal counseling and assistance. Approximately twenty-six percent of lawyers are self employed and start their own law firms. Law firms are usually formed by partners who own the business together and are in charge of the legal operations. A law firm also employs individuals known as associates who are lawyers that work for the firm with the hopes of one day being names partner. Other individuals work as clerical, paralegal and support staff. Law firms often specialize in one area of the law. For instance you can find law firms that specialize in family law, criminal law, civil rights, corporate and security laws. Other areas of the law that you can find specialized service for include environmental law, labor law, educational law, and health law. Individuals who have been injured in a fall or an accident will seek out injury lawyers. Jocoby & Meyers has been one of America’s most well known and recognized law firms over the last thirty years. This is in great part due to commercials that broadcast into people’s homes via the television. Law firms range in size from very small, usually consisting of one lawyer, to extremely large. The largest law firms in the world is United States based Baker & McKenzie, located in Chicago, Illinois. This law firm employs 3,300 attorneys and contains 1,136 partners around the globe. Baker & McKenzie have locations in North American, as well as Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Jenner & Block was ranked the top pro bono law firm in United States. The firm does not limit the amount of hours that it’s lawyers dedicate to pro bono work, however they are committed to devoting at least 5% of its hours to pro bono issues. In 2008, the firm’s attorneys contributed over 74,000 hours to pro bono cases. The firm employs around 470 attorneys located in Washington DC, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago.

The firms listed above are only a few of the great law firms available to provide legal council. There are hundreds on law firms in the New York and surrounding area alone. S Before looking for a law firm it is important to understand what kind of firm you are looking for seeing as there are so many different firms specialize in many different areas of the law. There are sites that provide an online directory of law firms in which you can search for a law firm based on what area of law you need representation for. This database contains 929 listings for criminal defense law firms and 779 listings for family law firms. The two areas of law that contain the most listings in the database is law firms specializing in personal injury and firms specializing in corporate and business law. Some research into local law firms will help you to find the firm that is best suited to represent you and your case.