Transactional and litigation law are as dissimilar as they are alike. What makes the two alike is they are both an actionable way law is practiced.
Transactional and litigation law differs in that litigation is usually practiced in the courtroom where an attorney directly challenges another attorney who represents an opposing side.
Lawyers whose practice area focuses on transactional law by nature of their specialty hardly see a courtroom if ever.
Once that is acknowledged, these practice areas begin to resemble each other again in that they both require copious amounts of research and a strong understanding of the desires set down by two opposing parties.
But once that is established, transactional and litigation once again grow apart as litigation is needed if a lawsuit seems eminent, while transactional law is required if both parties are in agreement that a lawsuit is not in either’s best interests.