Civil Law

Hands-on Legal Training in Louisiana Civil Law.

Louisiana Civil Law is Unique Among the rest of the U.S. States

Unlike most other states, which follow the common law tradition, Louisiana's civil law system is based on the Napoleonic Code and relies on comprehensive, codified laws and regulations to govern civil matters. This system is characterized by a focus on written statutes and a more inquisitorial approach, where judges play a more active role in investigating cases and interpreting the law, setting it apart from the adversarial common law system found in the rest of the country. 

Because of our proximity to Louisiana, MC developed the Center for Civil Law Studies to provide an opportunity to focus legal training on the unique legal system within Louisiana. The Center for Civil Law Studies works closely with the Civil Law Society, an organization of MC Law students who plan to practice in Louisiana. Established in 2015, the Center offers a Certificate Program in Civil Law, organizes the Civil Law curricular offerings, sponsors an annual scholarly symposium,  and supports other events designed to promote the academic and professional development of students pursuing studies in civil law and who plan to practice law in Louisiana.

Real World Experience with Louisiana Civil Law

Students may elect to do externships in Louisiana in a governmental or non-profit law office for 3 or 6 credits. The externships are available in all parts of the state, giving students opportunities to gain real world experience, network, and earn academic credit in the community in which they intend to practice following graduation. In addition, students may take courses at MC Law by synchronous distance learning during the term or terms in which they are externing in Louisiana, enhancing the opportunities to spend a summer term or regular semester (or both a summer term and a regular semester) in Louisiana while pursuing the J.D. degree at MC Law.

Center for Civil Law Studies Staff

PHILLIP L. MCINTOSH

Associate Dean for Civil Law and Foreign Studies and Professor of Law

Dean McIntosh joined the MC Law faculty in 1991 from private practice in Monroe, Louisiana. He received his B.S. degree, magna cum laude, and his J.D. degree (Order of the Coif and Louisiana Law Review) from LSU. He received the LL.M. from New York University School of Law in 1981. Dean McIntosh established the Civil Law curriculum at MC Law in 1991 and has guided its growth during the intervening years from three courses (for a total of 9 credit hours) to a nine course curriculum (for a total of 27 credit hours). After serving as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for thirteen years, Dean McIntosh was named as the Associate Dean for Civil Law and Foreign programs in 2015. He is the founding director of MC Law’s Center of Civil Law Studies and the founding director of the law school’s summer study abroad program in France, now known as the Transatlantic Summer School, operated in partnership with Catholique Université de Lille. Dean McIntosh teaches Civil Law Obligations, Civil Law Property, Civil Law Successions and Donations, Civil Law of Sales and Leases, Comparative Law, International and Comparative Sales Law, Products Liability and Advanced Torts.

Milton J. Hernandez, IV

Assistant Professor of Law

Milton "MJ" Hernandez primarily teaches courses in and writes on Louisiana civil law and comparative law. Professor Hernandez's current research and scholarship focus on Louisiana successions and donations law. Professor Hernandez teaches Comparative Law, Civil Law of Successions and Donations, Civil Law of Persons and Family, Civil Law Matrimonial Regimes, and Louisiana Civil Procedure. He also teaches in the Study Abroad Program to Merida, Mexico. Professor Hernandez serves as the Assistant Director of the Center for Civil Law Studies. Professor Hernandez earned his Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana State University. He holds a Juris Doctor and a Graduate Diploma in Comparative Law from the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, where he graduated magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, and served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Louisiana Law Review.