• Civil law touches many areas of our everyday lives.Justice image by MVit from Fotolia.com
  
  Civil laws deal with the enforcement of individual rights. Civil attorneys handle both prosecution and defense of cases that deal with civil laws. The most common cases involve tort claims in which people feel as though they have been harmed by another party. Civil law touches many areas of our everyday lives, providing attorneys with ample opportunities to pursue them. A civil attorney attends and graduates law school and passes the state bar before he can practice. He makes an average of $124,750 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  
  

Employment

• Civil issues related to the workplace are handled by an employment attorney. Workplace discrimination, harassment, severance pay, family leave and safe working conditions are all cases of employment law.
  
  

Environmental

• If a person is inhaling dangerous chemicals at school or work, has come in contact with asbestos or works in an unsafe building, a civil attorney specializing in health and environmental issues will represent him.
  
  

Fraud

• A fraud lawyer will represent the victim who has been conned out of money through a pyramid scheme, business fraud or other manipulation. He specializes in going after the person or persons who have perpetuated the crime.
  
  

Injury

• Injury law is a staple of civil litigation. An injury lawyer defends a client who has sustained an injury through an accident, malice, or the disregard of others. The injury may be mental rather than physical.
  
  

Patent

• A patent lawyer handles all the paperwork involved with the sometimes complicated patent process. The first thing an inventor does when he has a new idea for an invention or designs a new product is to hire a patent attorney to protect his rights to the idea. Likewise, a copyright attorney will help his client protect her intellectual property, such as a book or music she has written.
  
  

Divorce

• Family law is considered one of the most contentious segments of civil law. A divorce lawyer deals with family law and handles all issues pertaining to the dissolution of a marriage. These issues may include spousal and child support, custody, visitation and division of property.
  
  

Bankruptcy

• Bankruptcy laws have tightened and become more confusing over the last few years. A bankruptcy attorney helps his clients to file all the necessary papers with the court needed to declare bankruptcy. He will also help them determine which type of bankruptcy best fits their situation and explain to them the process involved.
  
  

Accident

• Accident attorneys represent clients who have been injured in an accident of any kind. This may be as simple as getting hit by a baseball while sitting in the stands of a baseball game or a slip and fall in a grocery store. The large percentage of an accident attorney's case load involves motor vehicles. This includes drunk driving accidents, hit and runs, rear-end collisions and motorcyclists who have been hit by a car.