How to Pursue a Course in Civil Law?

Being one of the most crucial branches of Law, Civil Law helps resolve non-criminal disputes with the defined procedures, set of rules, regulations, and judicial precedents. Civil Law is one of the best options if you want to start your professional career as a lawyer. Today, more than 60% of the world’s countries have some form of civil law. Hence, pursuing a course in Civil Law will bring a lucrative amount of opportunities in your professional career. In this blog, you will know all about the Civil Law, its courses, top colleges and much more!

What is Civil Law?

Law can be described as a system of guidelines intended to control how persons behave. In essence, a nation’s or a political body’s creation of law serves to control citizen behaviour. Law is divided into four categories in the Indian judicial system: criminal law, civil law, common law, and statutory law.

One of the most crucial areas of law for every citizen of the nation is civil law. By following the established procedures, rules, regulations, and legal precedents, it aids in resolving various non-criminal conflicts. The conflict may be personal, familial, or organizational.

Just as it is true that there are no short cuts to success in life, the same is true of being a good lawyer. To succeed in the area, the occupation calls for a lot of hard work and attention.

Why to Study Civil Law

Studying Civil Law is one of the most challenging decisions, as it may take years of academic toil to achieve success in this field. However, many opportunities are offered to anyone who decides to tow this path for developing the necessary skills. Here are the top reasons why pursuing Law can be one of the best decisions in your professional career:

• A Civic Activist: Studying Civil Law will make you the forerunner of the usual constraints faced in society between states and individuals. From deterring exploitative behaviors to stopping unethical business practices, if you have an interest in social activism with the assistance of the Law, Civil Law is the right choice for you.
• Peacekeeper: Working as a civil lawyer will engrave you with the tagline of being the peacemaker of the society for Civil Law plays an essential part in maintaining the delicate balance between freedom of expression and individual rights.
• A Humanitarian of Law: Civil Law is one of the most benevolent aspects of the Law. Civil Law allows plaintiffs to seek financial support from the other party as many do not have the financial resources to cover legal expenses.
• A democratic diplomat: You can be the flagbearer of modern, democratic societies that values equality, justice, and individual freedom by sustaining a righteous decree. This can be achieved by utilizing Civil Law as a virtuous tool.

Branches of Civil Law

By default, civil laws are divided into four main categories based on which societal issues they are associated with. Below are the four main types of civil cases and corresponding civil law.

• Contract Law – Contract Law deals with agreements between two or more parties, each obligated to hold up their portion of the agreement.
• Tort Law – Tort Law, is a branch of Civil Law concerned with personal injury and civil wrongdoing. These wrongdoings are done mainly by one person or entity to another, which results in injury or property damage, and frequently involves monetary compensation to the injured party.
• Property Law – Property Law, covers both personal and real property. This law is further categorized into trespass and conversion. Trespass refers to a defendant intentionally and physically interfering, and conversion refers to a defendant depriving a plaintiff of their personal property without the plaintiff’s consent.
• Family Law – Family Law, is the branch of Civil Law that deals with marriage, divorce, annulment, child custody, adoption, birth, child support, and any other family issues. This branch is unique as there is not necessarily a person who committed a civil wrong in their cases. Some newer areas under this category are same-sex marriage, artificial conception, surrogate motherhood, in vitro fertilization, and palimony.

Civil Law Syllabus

The syllabus for the course study of Civil Law is an extensive framework of all the activities included in the law. The detailed syllabus for both LLB and LLM is mentioned in the table below.

LLB

Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
Labour Law	Law of Evidence	Civil Procedure Law
Family Law – 1	Arbitration Conciliation and Alternative	Interpretation of Statuses
Criminal Law	Human Rights and Evidence Law	Legal Writing
Law of Contract – 1	Environmental Law	Land Laws and other local laws
Optional Papers: Trust, women, and lawCriminologyInternational economic law	Property law including the transfer of property act	Administrative Laws
Family Law – 2	Jurisprudence	Code of Criminal Procedure
Law of Tort and CPA	Practical Training – Legal Aid	Company Law
Constitutional Law	Optional Papers: Comparative LawLaw of InsuranceConflicts of LawIntellectual Property Law	Practical Training – Moot Courts
Professional Ethics		Banking Laws and Negotiable Instruments Act 1881

LLM

• What is Law? Civil vs. Criminal, International, Settling Disputes/Overview of Court System, Importance of Lawyers and Legal Profession
• Constitutional Law/Free Speech
• Other 1st Amendment Freedoms
• Privacy, due process, abortion
• Process of being arrested “juvenile offenders”
• Rational Basis/Strict Scrutiny and example cases of discrimination
• Parties and types of crimes against the person
• Other types of Crimes
• Torts/Civil Wrongs
• Intentional Torts
• Negligence
• Strict Liability and Public Policy Review and Exam

Civil Law Courses Duration

Course	Duration
Integrated course after class 12	5 years
Undergraduate level	LLB- 3-4 years
Postgraduate level	LLM- 2 years
Diploma level	Only after graduation may you seek a civil law diploma. The course will last for one year.

Eligibility Criteria for Civil Law Course

While starting from the roots, undergraduate students can opt for five-year integrated LLB courses in Civil Law or a three-year LLB degree after graduation. Meanwhile, candidates willing to pursue higher studies can choose Law degrees such as LLM and Ph.D. in Law. There are majorly three types of degree courses in Civil Law-Integrated LLB, LLB, and LLM. Given below are the basic eligibility requirements prescribed by the majority of law schools.

Law Courses	Duration	Eligibility
Integrated LLB	5 Years	Candidates should pass class 12 in any stream with a minimum of 45-50% marks
LLB	3 years	Candidates should have a graduation degree in any discipline with 55% of minimum marks
LLM	2 years	Candidates should have a graduation degree in law. A minimum of 24 months of experience is also demanded by some institutes and universities.

Admission Process

The admission process for getting into civil law colleges mostly happens through entrance examinations. Several foreign universities also admit students on merit-basis for law courses that are internationally recognized. Given below are the popular undergraduate civil law entrance examinations.

• AILET (All India Law Entrance Test)
• CLAT (Common Law Admission Test)
• LSAT India
• ACLAT: Alliance Common Law Admission Test
• ULSAT: UPES Law Studies Aptitude
• DU LLB (Delhi University Bachelor of Legislative Law)
• KLEE: Kerala Law Entrance Examination
• ILSAT: ICFAI Law School Admission Test
• AP LAWCET (Andhra Pradesh Common Law Entrance Test)

The most popular LLM entrance exams for Law admissions are:

• CLAT PG
• AILET PG
• LSAT India PG

Fees and Expenses of the Civil law Course

The following are the tuition fees and college expenditures for law courses:

Diploma level	For a one-year diploma, the costs range from Rs.5000 to Rs.25,000.
Undergraduate level	It varies depending on the college. The undergraduate degree costs between Rs.22, 000 to Rs.2,00,000 in fees.
Postgraduate	Students enrolled in the LLM civil law program must pay fees ranging from Rs.5000 to Rs.5,00,000 over the course of two years.

Required Skill Set for Civil Law

Analytical skill	Logical thinking and ability to stay unbiased
Research skill	Verbal communication skills & Writing skill
Interpersonal skill	Problem-solving skill

Scope of Civil Law in India and Abroad

India is a country governed by a constitution. Civil law makes a significant contribution to India’s judicial and legal systems. As a result, civil attorneys are in high demand in this nation. Family, tort, media, contract, administrative laws, and other aspects of civil law can all be followed in India. Due to the reliance on precedent in these areas, civil attorneys are becoming increasingly involved. The civil law and the code of civil processes define the jurisdiction of Indian civil courts (CPC). So, in India, learning civil law and pursuing a profession in it is highly beneficial.

Other countries, such as the United States, Singapore, Australia, France, and New Zealand, have established constitutional law. As a result, civil attorneys are in great demand in these nations as well. Civil attorneys in these nations handle important civil cases. They are endowed with the ability to use prudence. Civil law is a system of law that resolves conflicts between individuals and/or institutions in a neutral manner. As a result, civil law has a vast scope outside of the United States.

Careers in Civil Law

In-state civil courts, civil lawyers must present cases to jurors and judges. They might also operate in public or private sector companies to investigate official data. They can aid individuals, corporations, and organizations in comprehending laws and judgments. They can work in filing departments, for example, filing legal appeals in state and federal courts of appeals. They may play a role in resolving legal issues as negotiators. They are capable of drafting legal briefs. After graduating from a civil law school, many law students work for banks in credit departments, where their experience is highly sought for a case evaluation.

Civil Law Job Profiles and Top Recruiters

Candidates who complete the course are qualified for the following career profiles in the field of law in India. Check out the list below for some of the most common sorts of civil lawyers and their functions.

Jobs	Profiles
Family Lawyer	A family lawyer is in charge of matters involving family difficulties such as abuse, successions, alimony, family divisions, child custody, and so on. S/he assists clients in finding answers to such problems.
Divorce Lawyer	He is in charge of resolving disagreements between couples. A divorce lawyer is also in charge of dividing assets between the parties and resolving child custody disputes.
Intellectual Property Lawyer	He is in charge of situations involving intellectual and creative inventions. Patents, copyrights, trademarks, duplication, industrial design rights, and other concerns are among the responsibilities of the professional.

Top Recruiters

The following are some of the top civil law recruiters:

• Luthra & Luthra
• S & R Associates
• Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co
• Trilegal
• Khaitan & Co
• Desai & Diwanji
• Platinum Partners
• AZB & Partners
• Nishith Desai Associates
• Wadia Ghandy & Co
• Talwar Thakore & Associates
• Anand and Anand
• J Sagar Associates
• Economic Laws Practice
• Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan

Average Salary

A civil lawyer’s annual salary might range from Rs. 4-5 lakhs. However, pay is mostly determined by the number of years of experience and degree of education. Civil attorneys might earn between Rs.5 and Rs.20 lakhs per year in the private sector.

Top Colleges in India

India Today has listed some of the topmost universities and colleges that provide Law as a specialization as follows:

Ranking	College	City
1	National Law School of India University	Bangalore
2	The West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences	Kolkata
3	National Law Institute University Bhopal	Bhopal
4	Gujarat National Law University	Gandhinagar
5	Symbiosis Law School Pune	Pune
6	Hidyatulla National Law University	Nava Raipur
7	Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University Lucknow	Lucknow
8	Faculty of Law Banaras Hindu University	Varanasi
9	National Law University Odisha	Cuttack
10	ILS Law College Pune	Pune

Top 10 Universities for Civil Law Abroad

Most foreign universities have their own set of law entrance exams as law can vary from one country to another, such as LSAT, CLT, and LNAT. The admitted candidates are primarily chosen based on their entrance scores, academic qualifications, personal statement, and merit. According to QS World University Ranking, the following are the top 10 universities for studying Civil Law.

Ranking	University Name	Country
1	Harvard University	United States
2	University of Oxford	United Kingdom
3	University of Cambridge	UK
4	Yale University	US
5	Stanford University	US
6	University of Melbourne	Australia
7	London School of Economics and Political Science	UK
8	University of California, Berkeley	US
9	Columbia University	US
10	New York University	US

Civil Law Books and Study Materials

Candidates can refer to these books for studying civil law:

Book Name	Author
Civil Law, Bar Review Companion	Andres D. Bautista, Marie Antonette, B. Quiogue
civil Law Reviewer	Volume 1 by Elmer T. Rabuya
The Civil Law Tradition	John Henry Merryman
Civil Procedure (Law School Legends Audio Series CD)	Richard Freer

Civil Law vs. Criminal Law

Criminal law and civil law are different in terms of how cases are started (who may file charges or a lawsuit), how cases are decided (by a judge or a jury), what types of punishment or penalties may be imposed, what standards of proof must be met, and what legal protections may be available to the defendant.

In criminal cases, for instance, only the federal or state government (the prosecution) may bring a case. Cases are almost always decided by juries; the punishment for serious (felony) charges often entails imprisonment but may also include paying a fine to the government; to obtain a conviction, the prosecution must prove the defendant’s guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt”; and defendants are shielded from police or prosecutors’ actions that are against their rights (Fifth Amendment).

In contrast, civil cases are started (suits are filed) by a private party (the plaintiff); cases are typically decided by a judge (though significant cases may involve juries); punishment almost always takes the form of a monetary award and never involves incarceration; to win, the plaintiff must prove the defendant’s liability only by the “preponderance of evidence”; and defendants are not entitled to the same legal protections as are the criminal.

FAQs

Are you interested in building your career as a Civil Lawyer? There is a whopping scope for Law students in recent years. From being a Legal Adviser to a Social Worker, Civil Law has immense lucrative opportunities to become your professional career someday. For more information or expert assistance in finding the right course and colleges for your further studies, our team at Leverage Edu is ever ready to guide you through the process. Contact now for a free consultancy session.