Civil vs Criminal vs Family Law: Which Type of Lawyer Do You Need?

When something goes wrong, the first instinct is to call 'a lawyer' ? but lawyers specialise. Picking the wrong specialty wastes a consultation and may give you misleading advice. Here is a rough decision tree.

Criminal law applies when the State is acting against an individual: police complaints, FIRs, bail, charge sheets, and trials under the Indian Penal Code or recent Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. If you've been arrested, named in an FIR, or are being investigated, this is where you start.

Civil law covers disputes between private parties where the remedy is monetary, declaratory, or injunctive ? recovery of money, breach of contract, eviction, partition of property, defamation suits. If someone owes you money or refuses to honour an agreement, this is civil.

Family law covers personal-law matters: marriage, divorce, custody, maintenance, adoption, succession, guardianship. Each religion has its own personal law (Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsi, Special Marriage Act for inter-faith), so a family lawyer who handles your community's law specifically is best.

Property and real-estate law is technically civil but has its own specialists for sale agreements, registration, RERA disputes, society / housing-board issues, and partition.

Consumer protection covers complaints against companies for defective goods or services. The forum (district / state / national) depends on the value at stake.

Corporate, IP, tax, labour are specialist areas ? usually employer-side or business-side rather than individual.

If you genuinely don't know which category fits, search by keyword on KanunSetu's advocate list ? you'll often find that one practice area dominates the results, and that's where to start.

This article is general information, not legal advice.