Civil law is one of those subjects that a lot of people don’t know much about (no, watching those courtroom TV shows isn’t a substitute for learning about civil law), and yet it affects them every day. If you are ever involved in litigation, you may need to hire a civil attorney.
What is civil law anyway?
Civil law deals with dispute resolution. This covers a wide range of specific areas, and civil lawyers (also known as litigators) generally specialize in one or two practices. A civil defense attorney can be found in the courtroom representing a defendant in a medical malpractice lawsuit and could be dealing with an environmental law dispute the next day.
Think of it this way: Many centuries ago, you may have seen two champions, each selected by someone involved in a feud, fighting each other. The champion who won the fight essentially won the fight for the person who signed him. These champions, assuming they survived, could have gone to work for someone else who had an entirely different feud to settle.
Today’s litigants act in much the same capacity, but without the literal bloodshed and the sound of guns against shields. Keep in mind that civil law refers to matters that do not include criminal charges such as murder, armed robbery, arson, etc. That is the realm of the criminal lawyer.
Under what circumstances should I hire a civil defense attorney?
Before you start calling and emailing, it’s best to try to understand exactly what a civil law attorney does in their work.
Civil attorneys represent clients in trials rather than criminal trials. In general, an attorney will not practice both civil and criminal law. A victim must retain her own civil attorney, which means that she is not entitled to a court-provided attorney in a civil case.
If the dispute involves money at stake, you need a civil attorney. You won’t go to jail if you lose a civil lawsuit, so stick with one litigant. (Speaking of which, a civil attorney can represent both defendants and plaintiffs.)
You may have heard the term “insurance defense attorney.” This refers to an attorney who specializes in representing defendants in civil cases involving insurance claims. They are often hired by insurance companies to represent a company or person that has been sued for a claim covered by an insurance policy.
If you are looking to fight an injunction, a court order that prevents a defendant from engaging in a certain activity, you will want to obtain a civil law attorney.
