Civil Law – Civil POC

There are significant differences between criminal and civil proceedings. This includes the protections due to the defendants, like against ex post facto law. This means that people cannot be punished for acts that were not illegal during the time of its execution; people should not be punished if there is no law punishing such act.

A criminal defendant also has protection from double jeopardy. This means that a defendant who is found not guilty for an offense can’t be charged for the same offense.

These protections are not available for defendants in a civil case. However, in the principle of double jeopardy, the corresponding protection for defendants in a civil case is -res judicata- which means that the plaintiff can only file one claim against one occurrence.

Aside from differences when it comes to the proceedings involved in both civil and criminal cases, it is important to note the significant difference between the legal practitioners that practice these specific lines of defense. In several places and specific states and cities, like Jacksonville, there are law firms available to help people in need of legal advice to determine the proper lawyer they should be contacting. A Jacksonville family lawyer like many others is a good example of a beneficial way to learn more about the difference between a civil and a criminal case.

It is very important to determine first what type of case is at hand. This is necessary because specific lawyers provide for a more powerful legal defense. Although lawyers can be of great help when it comes to general matters, being more specific allows for a greater chance to access knowledge and experience. A Jacksonville criminal attorney can offer adequate advice for clients who are in need of legal advice concerning criminal proceedings.

Although a family lawyer can do the trick, it is still more advisable to be more specific. A Jacksonville family lawyer may be able to determine the criminal aspects of the case, however, no one does it better that a criminal lawyer. Likewise, a criminal attorney may be able to see some of the criminal aspects of a family case, but only a family lawyer can point out the civil aspects more accurately. Therefore, in order to be successful in a specific legal proceeding, it is important to determine the particular differences to be able to choose a more specific person for the job.

This article serves to provide information on the roles of a litigation solicitor on a day to day basis. It will discuss some of the matters they deal with and give an overview of legal solutions to various disputes. It will then conclude with a brief summary. Litigation solicitors deal with a wide and varied spectrum of legal matters which could be as varied as a contract dispute at one end or a contentious probate dispute at the other. Litigation solicitors tend to fall into two broad categories, those that deal with Civil Litigation ie matters like Business Partnership disputes and Commercial Litigation and those dealing with Criminal Litigation matters such as Bail applications etc.

Civil litigation deals with disputes between two or more private parties and or an organisation, the matter generally revolves around a compensation element in some cases matters that have Civil Litigation issues between commercial parties can be resolved through commercial mediation. Criminal litigation conversely deals with criminal offences.

Civil Litigation lawyers may choose to specialise further as this can be more lucrative in the long run and it is easier to be an expert in a particular area of litigation rather than covering all areas of Civil Litigation. For example some Civil Law solicitors may choose to specialise in Commercial Litigation whereas others may choose to specialise in Business Partnership disputes or Commercial Mediation however you will still find Civil Litigation solicitors that cover more than one area of Civil Law, these types of lawyers generally work in the smaller law firms where client bases are not as large. Other areas are property disputes, employment, insurance, commercial, professional negligence but this is not an exhaustive lists and there are many other areas of civil litigation. In Criminal Law and Civil Law there are different burdens of proof. A burden of proof is the legal test applied to help find the fault or guilt. In Civil Litigation the burden of proof is the balance of probabilities in Criminal Litigation the burden of proof is beyond reasonable doubt. To prove guilt in Criminal matters the lawyer must seek to prove that the defendant is guilty beyond reasonable doubt, otherwise the conviction will fail, yet in Civil Litigation the burden is not as difficult to prove. Criminal litigation solicitors may also operate in the same way as civil law solicitors in that they may choose to be either specialist in one particular area of criminal law or be general practitioners and cover many areas such as fraud and theft etc.

Criminal law solicitors generally practice a more than one area related to criminal law and indeed some solicitors deal with both civil and criminal law matters. Irrespective of what area the litigation solicitor chooses, at its heart the role of a solicitor is the represent the clients best interests at all times and provide the best possible service so as to help them resolve their legal matter in the best possible way. The fees of a litigation solicitor is significantly high, and thus the onus of a result in favour of his client is his responsibility. The solicitor should be very vigilant and pay attention to every minute detail at all times; a minor negligence can turn futile and might heavily impact the results of the trial. In such a case the client has the option to go for professional negligence claims, which can impact the litigating solicitor’s reputation.

Tag: Civil Law

The Difference between Criminal and Civil Law

Criminal and Civil Litigation the role of the solicitor