Could Someone Please "Simplify" Public Law?

[Chewy]

I've heard of a number of students who are interested in pursuing Public Law, yet I am not entirely sure what that means. I have a few questions about what Public Law actually entails and which career path those who focus in Public Law can take. I have this preconceived notion that someone who focuses on Public Law works for the government, primarily in policy. Based on the research I've done, there's a very broad spectrum but I'm hoping to clarify some things:

1. What does Public Law entail? Is it primarily government based?
2. What are the various career paths that students/lawyers can pursue? 
3. I've seen criminal litigation included in the Public Law sphere. How does this differentiate from someone whose focus is in Criminal Law?
4. Do private firms typically work in Public Law? 
5. Why is Public Law typically regarded as a 9-5 position? 

Thanks, all.

[CleanHands]

This is all academic and semantic and no actual lawyer cares about any of these questions at all.

[Byzantine]

1 hour ago, Chewy said:

I've heard of a number of students who are interested in pursuing Public Law, yet I am not entirely sure what that means. I have a few questions about what Public Law actually entails and which career path those who focus in Public Law can take. I have this preconceived notion that someone who focuses on Public Law works for the government, primarily in policy. Based on the research I've done, there's a very broad spectrum but I'm hoping to clarify some things:

1. What does Public Law entail? Is it primarily government based?
2. What are the various career paths that students/lawyers can pursue? 
3. I've seen criminal litigation included in the Public Law sphere. How does this differentiate from someone whose focus is in Criminal Law?
4. Do private firms typically work in Public Law? 
5. Why is Public Law typically regarded as a 9-5 position? 

Thanks, all.

I’ll take a shot at your question and I’m sure others will chime in if I’m off. I think you’re conflating public law as an area of the law and working as a lawyer in government (i.e. the public sector). To me, public law is an area of law that encompasses constitutional law (federalism, charter, etc.) and administrative law. So the use of “public” powers and constraints on that use. Maybe criminal law is theoretically a subset of public law but I’ve never heard it referred to as such. 

There’s a sense that working in the public sector gives you a better work life balance as a lawyer, but it seems to depend on what role you’re in. I have no direct experience here. Also, you could be a government lawyer practicing public law but you could also be doing something completely different. 

[BlockedQuebecois]

13 hours ago, Byzantine said:

To me, public law is an area of law that encompasses constitutional law (federalism, charter, etc.) and administrative law. So the use of “public” powers and constraints on that use. Maybe criminal law is theoretically a subset of public law but I’ve never heard it referred to as such. 

Public law is any law that governs the relationship between people and the state, and so would include criminal law as well as tax and regulatory law. It’s contrasted with private law, which governs the relationship between individuals. 

But I agree with @CleanHands that this is largely semantics and doesn’t actually matter.