Civil Law

A civil law course is a program of study that focuses on the legal principles and concepts related to civil law. It covers various areas such as contract law, property law, tort law, family law, and constitutional law.

To pursue a civil law course candidates need to complete 10+2 if planning to pursue at undergraduate level and graduation in LLB to pursue it at the postgraduate level, followed by the qualification of relevant law entrance examinations such as CLAT, AILET, LSAT India, SLAT etc.

There are various colleges both government and private that offer admission to civil law courses in India. These include NLSIU Bengaluru, NALSAR Hyderabad, GNLU Gujarat, RGNUL Patiala, RMLNLU Lucknow, Symbiosis Law University Pune, SLCU Christ University, Lloyd Law College Greater Noida etc. The average fees in the government colleges/ universities ranges between INR 50,000- INR 1,50,000 per annum and the fees in private institutions is between INR 2,00,000- INR 5,00,000 per annum.

Numerous career opportunities are offered to students who have completed a civil law course. These include job profiles such as that of a civil lawyer, legal advisor, transactional lawyer, lecturer, legal journalist, family lawyer, contract lawyer etc. The salary package of these civil law professionals ranges between INR 3,00,000- INR 6,00,000 per annum at an entry-level stage, and may go up to INR 9,00,000 per annum at senior level stage.

Highly reputed legal firms in India hire civil law graduates, these recruiters include Khaitan and Co., Trilegal, Luthra and Luthra Associates, Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A Shroff & Co. J Sagar Associates, Wadia Ghandy & Co, AZB & Partners, Anand and Anand etc. 

To get a quick overview about the civil law course, refer to the details mentioned in the table below.

Also Read: All You Need to Know About Career As A Lawyer

There are several reasons why you might consider choosing a civil law course. Some of the merits of taking up the course are discussed below:

1. Diverse Career Opportunities: Civil Law offers a wide range of career paths, including working as a civil lawyer, legal consultant, legal advisor, or legal analyst. This field provides opportunities to work in law firms, corporate legal departments, government agencies, and even the judiciary.

2. Making a Difference: Civil Law allows you to make a positive impact on society by advocating for justice, resolving disputes, and protecting the rights and interests of individuals and organizations.

3. Intellectual Stimulation: Studying civil law involves analyzing complex legal principles, researching cases, and developing persuasive arguments. It can be intellectually challenging and rewarding.

4. Personal and Professional Development: A Civil Law course equips you with critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. These skills are valuable not only in the legal field but also in various other professions.

5. Prestige and Respect: Being a legal professional in civil law often comes with a level of prestige and respect in society. It's a field that commands admiration and recognition.

An online civil law course is a course that you can take over the internet. It allows you to study civil law concepts, principles, and practices remotely, without the need to attend physical classes. Online courses provide flexibility in terms of time and location, allowing you to learn at your own pace and from the comfort of your own home. These courses typically include video lectures, reading materials, interactive exercises, and assessments to evaluate your understanding of the subject. You may also have access to online forums or discussion boards to interact with instructors and fellow students. Online civil law courses can be a convenient option for those who have other commitments or prefer a self-paced learning environment. 

When considering online courses, it's important to research the credibility and reputation of the provider, read reviews, and ensure that the course content aligns with your learning goals.

Some of the popular online courses in civil law are mentioned below. According to one’s interest, candidate’s can choose any to upskill themselves.

Civil Law courses are offered at different levels of education, including undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG), diploma, and certificate levels. Here's a breakdown of the types of civil law courses you can find at each level:

The eligibility criteria for civil law courses can vary depending on the level of the program. Here's a general overview of the eligibility criteria for different levels:

Skill Set Required for Civil Law Course

There are few skills that can help the individuals in advancing his or her career and getting a good salary and a reputable position as a civil law course graduate. The skills must be acquired by the candidate before or during the course duration. This list of skills is given below:

• Legal Understanding
• Legal Communication
• Commitment
• Attention for Details
• Negotiation Skills
• Conflict Resolution
• Time Management 
• Good Listener
• Ability to Assimilate & Analyze Facts
• Good Presentation Skills

Usually in most of the reputable institutions, candidates have to qualify the entrance exam to begin their journey in civil law course. Numerous entrance exams are conducted every year to offer admission to the civil law course. The details of these entrance exam are provided in the table below.

Also Read: Top Law Entrance Exams in India

The admission process for civil law courses in India can vary depending on the level of the program and the specific institution. Here's a general overview of the admission process for different levels:

Undergraduate Level (UG): For admission to a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) program, you usually need to appear for an entrance examination, such as LSAT, CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) or other state-level law entrance exams. These exams assess your aptitude and knowledge in areas like English, General Knowledge, Legal Reasoning, and more. Based on your performance in the entrance exam, you may be shortlisted for further rounds, which can include a personal interview or a group discussion. The final selection is typically based on your entrance exam score and performance in the subsequent rounds.

Postgraduate Level (PG): To secure admission to a Master of Laws (LLM) program, most universities require you to have a valid score in entrance exams like LSAT, CLAT PG, AILET PG, or other university-specific exams. These exams evaluate your understanding of legal concepts and your ability to analyze and apply them. Some institutions may also consider your academic performance during your undergraduate degree and conduct interviews or group discussions as part of the selection process.

Diploma and Certificate Level: The admission process for diploma and certificate courses in Civil Law can vary among institutions. Some may have a direct admission process based on merit, while others may conduct entrance exams or interviews.

Listed below are the entrance exams required to qualify to get admission into law colleges in India:

Also Read: List of Popular Law Entrance Exams in India 2023

For UG Civil Law:

• AP LAWCET- Andhra Pradesh Law Common Entrance Test
• CLAT- Common Law Admission Test
• AIBE- All India Bar Examination
• AILET- All India Law Entrance Test
• LSAT India- Law School Admission Test
• TS LAWCET- Telangana State Law Common Entrance Test
• MH CET- Maharashtra Common Entrance Test
• ULSAT- UPES Law Study Aptitude
• ACLAT- Alliance Common Law Admission Test
• DU LLB Entrance Exam
• KLEE- Kerala Law Entrance Exam

For PG Civil Law:

• NLIU Entrance Exam, LL.M. Entrance Exam
• Bharati Vidyapeeth University LL.M. Exam
• Delhi University LL.M. Entrance Exam
• Jamia Millia Islamia University LL.M. Entrance Test
• CLAT
• AILET
• LSAT-India

The average course fees for civil law courses varies depending upon several factors including rankings and grades of the institution, internship and placement statistics over the years, the level of the course etc. The course fees for civil law in government institutions range between INR 50,000-1,50,000 per annum and in private colleges and universities, the fees range between INR 2,00,000- 6,00,000 per annum.

Further, if we look at the course fees in accordance with the level of the course, then an undergraduate degree in civil law will have a course fees ranging between INR 22,0000- 2,00,000 per annum and a postgraduate degree in civil law will have a costing ranging between INR 40,000-5,00,000 per annum. The course fees at diploma and certificate level is expected to be anywhere around INR 50,000- 1,75,000 per annum.

Under a civil law course, candidates have to study both core and elective subjects. The syllabus varies depending upon the institute, most of the topics remain common amongst all the colleges and universities offering civil law course. Some of the subjects that are taught under the curriculum of civil law course include the following topics:

Many leading private colleges and universities situated in India offer civil law course both at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Admission to the course is either on the basis of merit or qualification of university based entrance exam. Some of the popular institutions are listed below for your reference.

Numerous NLUs situated in India offer admission to civil law courses on the basis of qualification of CLAT entrance examination (AILET exam for National Law University, Delhi). Further, many more government universities and colleges offer this course to eligible students both at undergraduate and postgraduate level after qualification of relevant entrance exam. Some of the leading public institutions offering civil law course in India are given below.

Also Read: NLU List in India

Numerous career opportunities are available for civil law course graduates both in the public and private sector. The demand for civil law professionals is ever expanding and not just limited to legal firms, but also schools and universities, government ministries, social organizations, corporate houses, banking sector, and non-banking financial institutions etc. 

To get in-depth information about various jobs offered to civil law graduates along with insights into the salary package and job work description refer to information given below.

Civil Law Jobs

Some of the job profiles offered to civil law graduates along with your work description is given below:

• Civil Lawyer: A civil lawyer is responsible for helping clients to save their legal rights and to represent them in the court. Civil lawyers provide necessary support to clients on non-criminal matters such as disputes in businesses, family, property, and other litigation matters.
• Legal Advisor: A legal advisor is responsible for providing organizations and clients with the right guidance, advice and support related to legal issues and concerns. They also provide solutions to their clients, and are also actively involved in preparing and reviewing contracts and other legal agreements and documents.
• Legal Journalist: Legal journalists have the responsibility to promote transparency and educate citizens about their legal rights and responsibilities. Legal reporters or journalist research, write, edit and file news stories, features in articles, their content is then used on television, radio, magazines, journals, newspapers, both in print as well as online to provide latest information about the legal world, new agreements, latest amendments etc. 
• Family Lawyer: As the term implies, family lawyer focuses on issues related to disputes in families such as divorce proceedings, child custody, adoptions etc. A family lawyer is responsible for drafting agreements, wills, prenuptial documents, custody agreements etc. He or she is also responsible to provide advice to his or her clients about the legal rights and obligations as well as provide solutions and related courses of action.
• Transactional Lawyer: The role of a transactional lawyer is to advise individuals in organization on the legal matters generated by business dealings, transactions, mergers and acquisitions, sales and business transactions. He or she is responsible to oversee the contracts and agreements which are related to financial exchanges. They are also responsible to verify all documentation and negotiation on behalf of the clients. 
• Property Lawyer: Property lawyers or real estate lawyers as the name suggests are responsible for dealing with disputes related to property, buyers and owners. They are responsible for title searches, deed transfers, home inspections, representations at closing, drafting contracts, reviewing and interpreting a contract, and ensuring the legal rights of buyers and owners.
• Contractual Lawyer: A contractual lawyer per their clients by negotiating, drafting, reviewing and managing contracts. They have a specialized role in mediating conflicts and setting up agreements between the parties, individuals and even businesses.
• Law Lecturer: A law lecturer is responsible for delivering lectures related to civil law and other matters related to the law of the land to the students. They are also experts in taking up research and curriculum development.

Civil Law Salary

The salary of a civil lawyer depends upon certain factors such as the skills required by an individual, years of experience one has, the firmware in which the individual is hired, the position at which he or she is hired etc. 

The salary of a civil law graduate at an entry-level position is somewhere between INR 3,00,000- INR 5,00,000 per annum. At mid-level it ranges between INR 4,50,000- INR 6,00,000 per annum. Top/ senior positions may help civil law graduates earn upto INR 9,00,000 per annum.

The table below provides insight into the various job profiles in their average salary package.

Top Recruiters for Civil Law

Nowadays, pursuing higher education increases one’s chances of gaining exposure and upgrading themselves. A lot of civil law graduates after completing their law degrees take up higher education courses to increase their salary package and to be eligible for top level positions. Some of the courses that can help civil law graduates in excelling in their career are as follows:

• Masters in Law (LLM): An LLM degree after completion of civil law course can aid individuals in deepening their legal expertise by giving them a chance to upgrade themselves using research methodologies. Further individuals who are interested in judiciary or civil services or any other related professions then this course will help candidates prepare for the competitive examinations that are to be qualified for these higher reputable positions.
• Masters in Business Administration (MBA): If you are a civil lawyer and want to start your own law firm or want to represent corporations by being their legal representative, then you can pursue an MBA course wherein you will learn about how to run a business successfully.
• PhD: If you are interested in legal research dynamics and want to pursue a career as an educationist or professor of civil law, then you can pursue PhD.

Also Read: How to Pursue MBA after Law