Just like in medicine, there are general attorneys (similar to family practice or primary care physicians) who perform a wide range of different legal services.  Then there are attorneys who act more as specialists in different areas of the law.  For many general legal services such as residential real estate transactions, simple wills, health care proxies and living wills and other day to day legal issues, general practice lawyers are likely to provide you with the best service at the most reasonable price.  If you have a litigation matter, a patent matter, a large personal estate to pass on to your loved ones or a complex commercial transaction, then you likely to need someone who works primarily in that specific area of the law.