How to Become a Civil Lawyer

About Civil Lawyer

A career as a Civil Lawyer has gained popularity with time. The civil lawyer deals with disputes between individuals and organisations. Civil Law deals in non-criminal cases which mainly concern property and legal claims of the people. Career in Civil Law offers challenging and exciting opportunities to the lawyers to help people get their legal rights. They mainly work on behalf of private clients, businesses to resolve legal matters and disputes. Civil law deals with law pertaining to property and people. To be a successful Civil Lawyer, it is important to empathise with people and society. Being a highly prestigious field, Civil Law welcomes the aspirers to build a successful career.

Eligibility to become Civil Lawyer

To pursue a career in Civil Law, it is mandatory to have a bachelor’s degree (LLB) in any field.

• You past have passed 3 or 5 year LLB (bachelor’s) degree from a recognised university to get admission into a masters course
• One of the best career paths to build a Career in Civil Law is to start practicing as a General Lawyer and then start practicing under an established Civil Lawyer.

NOTE- There are no set eligibility criteria to become a Civil Lawyer. The most suitable career route is to get an LLB degree and then get a license to start practicing. Some Civil Lawyers also pursue Ph.D. in the same.

Types of Job Roles Civil Lawyer

There are several job roles for Civil Lawyers depending upon the specialisation and interest of the individual. Some of the popular job roles and profiles for Civil Lawyer are as follows:

Journalist: Civil Lawyers with an established career start working as a Journalist or media firms to aware people about their legal rights and help them get their legal claims.

Professor: Law academicians with a Ph.D. degree in Civil Law can pursue a career as a Professor in Civil Law. Civil Law Professors are responsible to teach undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Civil law and its practices.

Social Worker:  Civil Lawyers also pursue their Career as Social Work as it concerns the rights and liberties of people. They start working with NGOs or start an NGO of their own to help people get their legal claims and property rights.

Assistant Solicitor General: An Assistant Solicitor General popularly known as AG provides assistance to the Solicitor General by preparing accusations for trial. The nature of the job of AG is such that it involves research, interpreting and compiling complex data and other information in Civil matters. It is very important for the Assistant Solicitor General to be skilled in public and interpersonal relations.

The Solicitor General of India: Solicitor General of India is the second-highest law officer of the country after the Attorney General and the main job role of the S.G is to appear in courts on behalf of the Govt of India during legal claims. To become an S.G. one should at least have five years of experience as Judge of a High Court and should have been an advocate of a High Court for at least ten years. The selection of the S.G. is done by the President of India and is considered as one of the most glorified jobs for a Civil Lawyer.

Employment Sector/ Industry for a Civil Lawyer

There are a variety of employment opportunities for Civil Lawyers in different sectors. Check out the top industries for Civil Lawyers here:

• Private Practice
• High Courts
• Supreme Courts
• Media Houses
• Real Estate Companies
• Colleges/ Universities
• NGOs
• National Commission for Women
• National Human Rights Commission

Top Recruiting Companies for Civil Lawyer

Most of the Civil Lawyers in India work for private clients or for individuals. Budding Civil lawyers work under the established ones to gain experience and skills to defend individuals in Civil Legal matters. Some of the top Civil Law Firms in India are listed below:

• Managium Juris
• Kanth & Associates
• AK Singh & Co.

Pay Scale/Salary of Civil Lawyer

A Civil lawyer usually starts his/ her career as an intern under an established law firm or a lawyer during which they are paid a stipend of Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 12,000 on an average per month. With experience and time, a Civil Lawyer in India can withdraw Rs. 2,00,000 to Rs. 4,00,000 per month. It is a known fact that an experienced Civil Lawyer withdraws more salary in the private sector than in the public sector.

Civil Lawyers are appointed as Solicitor General or working with the Government of India and withdraw a salary of Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 90,000 per month with added advantages and perks.

Some Civil Lawyers also do private practice and the salary can vary from client to client

Books & Study Material to Become Civil Lawyer

As it is rightly said that there is no end to learning, the Career of a Civil Lawyer involves a lot of research and reading. Check out the recommended books and study material to become Civil Lawyer here:

• Civil Law, Bar Review Companion by Andres D. Bautista, Marie Antonette, B. Quiogue
• Civil Law & Litigation for Paralegals by Neal Bevans
• The Civil Law Tradition by John Henry Merryman
• Cases and Materials on Federal Indian Law by David Getches and Charles Wilkinson

Pros of becoming a Civil Lawyer

• Civil Lawyers usually work with private clients and during the litigation period they develop a closing working relationship with their respective client. This can be very rewarding as you are navigating the client to find a solution to a legal problem.
• Civil Lawyers help people get their legal claims and career like this offers ultimate job satisfaction as you are in a way giving back to society.
• One of the biggest pros of being a Civil Lawyer is that they are paid really well. They are the paid legal professionals in the industry. In addition to excellent compensation and benefits, there is potential for bonuses and other perks.
• The everyday work of a Civil Lawyer is diverse which is not available in most of the other law professions.

Cons of becoming a Civil Lawyer

• Most of the Civil Lawyers work with private Clients and when you work with one to one employees it can be very demanding and exhausting.
• It takes time for a Civil Lawyer to build their career as it involves a lot of reading and research.
• There are no fixed hours or work-life balance in the Career of a Civil Lawyer.