// about
The course, the method, the author
What is at stake
Construction law is technical, heavily regulated and largely built by case law. It moves. And a mistake there is rarely cheap:
- a claim characterised under the wrong warranty
- a limitation period counted from the wrong day
- a cover refusal accepted when it could have been challenged
- a line of argument built on a decision that has since been overruled
- hours spent looking for what should have been known
None of these mistakes is exotic. Each is made by competent professionals, because the field is dense and moves faster than one can follow it while handling files. That is what this platform is for.
What it is
MasterConstruction is an interactive learning platform for French construction law, designed by Laurent Karila, lawyer at Karila, Société d'avocats and lecturer at université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. It is aimed at lawyers and their teams, in-house counsel, the claims and legal teams of insurers and builders, developers, brokers, employers and project managers, and master's students. Whether you draft, insure, assess or litigate, the subject matter is the same.
The platform comprises three complete subjects of nine courses each: builders' liability (subject 01), construction insurance (subject 02) and works contracts and subcontracting (subject 03) — each offered in four tracks, from Basic to Expert, and each self-contained: you can start with one knowing nothing of the others.
The method
Each course follows the same path, from first contact to assessment — the branching case studies are drawn from real litigation before the 3rd civil chamber of the Cour de cassation.
The course sheet
Statutes, case law, tables, timelines.
The flashcards
Memorise through active recall.
The dissected case
A landmark ruling analysed step by step.
The corrected MCQ
At your track's required threshold.
The K-PratiK
Branching case study drawn from real litigation.
The Exam
A real case file: you draft the judgment → certificate.
Why so narrow
This platform teaches law as much as it teaches one field to the people who practise it: the case studies can be lifelike because they come from real files, the quizzes can be demanding because the audience is professional, and nothing has to be watered down for a general readership.
It also means the field never stops moving. A daily legal watch feeds the courses; each quarter, recent decisions become an additional quiz, case study and podcast. The courses force the watch to be structured, and the watch keeps the courses from ageing — neither would hold on its own.
See the legal watch and the update log.
The author
Laurent Karila
Lawyer, Karila, Société d'avocats · Lecturer, université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Profile on karila.fr ↗A member of the Paris Bar since 1994 and secrétaire de la Conférence du stage, Laurent Karila devotes his practice exclusively to construction law and construction insurance: builders' liability and insurance, private works contracts, miscellaneous and industrial risks — advisory and contentious work alike, in mediation and in arbitration.
He has taught the subject since 2006, the year his reference work « Droit de la construction : responsabilités et assurances » was published by LexisNexis; its third edition appeared in 2017. He writes the Sous-traitance fascicle of the JurisClasseur Construction, the LexisNexis 360 synthesis fascicles (architects, subcontracting, works contracts), commentary in Le Moniteur — including L'essentiel de la jurisprudence Construction — and the PLC Construction and Projects: France guide.
He is editorial director of the firm's publications database — karila.fr/publications —, a body of case notes sorted by theme and source, updated every week. That watch is not something beside MasterConstruction: it is its raw material. A decision annotated for the database is available for the courses; writing a course sends you back to the database. That back-and-forth is what keeps the platform current.
- Postgraduate degree (DEA) in business and economic law (université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
- Graduate of ESCP and LL.M. from Georgetown University (United States)
- Trained in arbitration (ICC, CMAP) and mediation (CMAP, CEDR) — CEDR-accredited mediator
⚠ disclaimer
This site is a teaching aid. It does not constitute legal advice and replaces neither the oral course nor verification of the state of the law in force at the date of use.