Real estate law governs the legal issues arising from the ownership, purchase, transfer, rental, titling, development, zoning, and loans related to real property. "Real property," which is used interchangeably with "real estate" and "realty" refer to the land and structures, including other tangible aspects of the two, such as permanent fixtures in the land and structures. Real estate law is comprised of numerous, and often conflicting, rules and regulations enacted by states and other local governments. Real estate attorneys thus are versed in different aspects of the law and often concentrate on specific areas.

One of the common issues arising from real estate law would be the sale and purchase of real property. It is customary for sellers to engage the services of real estate brokers to seek out buyers for their property. Typically, the seller and the real estate broker enter into a listing agreement under which the broker agrees to list the property so that buyers may find it. In exchange, the seller agrees to pay the agent a commission, which is based on the proceeds from the sale of the property. The brokering business is governed by law and are subject to certain requirements, including licenses to operate, the requirements of which vary from state to state. As part of their required professional conduct, real estate brokers, under the Federal Fair Housing Act, are prohibited from discriminating against prospective buyers based on race, color sex, among others.

The sale of real property is governed by another set of laws, which, again, vary from state to state. Because the seller and the buyer come to a meeting of the minds in the purchase of the property, the sale of property is generally governed by contract law. Under contract law, a sale agreement is required to be put into writing for documentary evidence in case there is fraud in either of the parties.

Of the requirements in the sale of real property is that the property must have an appropriate title and the title to such property must be marketable. This means that the title must be clean in that there are liens attached to the property. It is in this stage of the sale process that buyers often require the help of real estate attorneys to look into whether the title of the property is marketable. Following an attorney's assurance that the title is marketable, a deed of the land must be executed. Some states require that deeds must be placed on official record so that the whole world will be notified that there has been change of ownership. The deed requires a detailed description of the land, in terms of metes and bounds, which description must be filled up by land surveyors. To finance the purchase of a real property, the prospective purchaser often obtains a mortgage because the cost of purchasing the property may be too steep and the prospective buyer might not have on hand the cash required to make such a purchase. Mortgage is governed by another set of laws.

Pharmaceutical law governs the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of pharmaceutical drugs. Pharmaceutical laws is a combination of different federal legislation, state laws, and court decisions relating to pharmaceutical drugs. Included in the area of pharmaceutical law is intellectual property law in relation to the protection of a pharmaceutical's research, standards, marketing restrictions and drug prescription and distribution.

One of the most important aspect of pharmaceutical law is intellectual property. The development of a new drug or treatment is project that could earn billions. It is for this reason that pharmaceutical companies are zealous in obtaining intellectual property rights of new drugs and treatments. The U.S. Patent Office, together with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, govern the granting of exclusivity rights for all pharmaceutical discoveries, inventions and innovations. The FDA is strict in pursuing companies who are manufacturing or selling pharmaceutical products that have not obtained the proper patent coverage. There is stiff competition in the application for patent rights. This is the reason why pharmaceutical companies have a retinue of pharmaceutical law attorneys doing research and drafting documentation for IP application with the Patent Office and exclusivity application with the FDA. In order to acquire exclusivity in the United States, the applicant must comply with requirements laid out by the FDA and the Patent Office. The FDA and the Patent Office have different requirements for application of patent and exclusivity. To be safe, pharmaceutical companies must obtain the two prior to manufacturing a drug, although an FDA exclusivity can be granted without first obtaining a patent.

The FDA gives a five-year exclusivity period for a new chemical entity, which means no other company can file an Abbreviated New Drug Application for the same NCE. Exclusivity application with the FDA can be costly, and, like pharmaceutical research, exclusivity application research is also thorough. The FDA exclusivity occurs regardless of whether or not the Patent Office has issued a patent. If a patent has already been obtained, the pharmaceutical company still cannot legally use any NCE without first obtaining exclusivity from the FDA. The patent must be listed with the so-called FDA Orange Book in order for the patent to work like an exclusivity. Other companies can challenge the validity of patents or a new drug application. Pharmaceutical law attorneys defend defend companies from these challenges as these acts turn really messy especially because of the millions that might be at stake, in terms of lost revenues and profits. These suits are complicated and are thus best left with expert attorneys.

In addition to intellectual property, product safety and marketing is also another important aspect of pharmaceutical law. The FDA has stringent testing on food and drugs before they can be sold in the market in order to protect consumers. Because drugs have the tendency to be abused or misused, the FDA also regulates the kind of marketing for drugs in order for consumers not to file misleading claims. Other laws are also in place that require immediate recall of products that are considered not safe. Product safety and marketing is a subject in numerous class action lawsuits across the country. These suits often seek multi-million dollars in damages. It is therefore a good idea for pharmaceutical companies to hire lawyers to make sure they are in compliance with product safety and marketing laws and defend them when facing complaints on product safety and marketing.