The Difference between Barristers, Solicitors and Lawyers

The Difference between Barristers, Solicitors and Lawyers

You may have heard of the terms barrister, solicitor and lawyer; but do you know what they mean and the difference between them? If not, you are in good company, as many people have only a vague understanding of what these jobs entail and indeed, which you should turn to if the situation calls for it. Hopefully this will help to clarify.

A lawyer is a general term that refers to people who practice the law and in the UK this covers a variety of roles. It can refer to solicitors and also barristers. Principally, a solicitor deals directly with clients and gives them advice in criminal and civil cases. When people speak about going to see a lawyer, it is generally a solicitor to which they will be referring. The majority of a solicitor’s time is spent advising clients, negotiating on their behalf or drafting legal documents. Additionally, solicitors can represent clients in court. There are over 150,000 solicitors practicing in England and Wales, according to the latest figures from the Law Society.

A barrister, on the other hand, acts as an advocate in court, and traditionally is instructed by a solicitor. They are easily recognisable because they wear wigs and gowns while in court. The barrister usually has no direct contact with the client. Barristers are mainly called to deal with cases in more senior courts, such as the Crown Court, High Court, Court of Appeal or Supreme Court. Additionally, barristers are called upon when advice on points of law is required. When a person has completed the required qualifications and training, they are called to the bar, which means they can then practice as a barrister. In the UK, senior barristers are called Queen’s Counsel (QC) and make up approximately 10% of practicing barristers. QCs, (sometimes called ‘Silks’ due to the formal clothes they wear in court), are appointed by the Queen, upon the recommendation of the Lord Chancellor. There are far fewer barristers than solicitors practicing in England and Wales – according to the Bar Council, around 15,500 currently.

In recent times the traditional roles of solicitors and barristers have begun to change. Historically, solicitors only appeared in lower courts, such as magistrates’ or county courts, for less serious cases. However nowadays, some solicitors act as advocates in higher courts. Similarly, barristers now sometimes accept instructions directly from clients.

What Is a Barrister?

What Is a Barrister?

One legal profession you may not be familiar with is that of a barrister. A barrister is actually a kind of legal counsel or lawyer. A barrister represents there clients in court and argues cases in front of a judge. A barrister also performs other functions such as performing work for solicitors. A solicitor is a term for a lawyer that has the job of meeting with different clients on an seperate basis.

Barrister is a term that is usually used in the context of a court system based on the British tradition. In British courts, lawyers are divided up into two different classifications. These are solicitors and barristers. Both professions require a great level of education and experience. Despite this fact, it is usually only the barrister that argues a case in front of a court.

 

A solicitor, however, under most circumstances, does not speak in a court room. Instead they will meet with clients and manage a number of different legal responsibilities that need to be taken care outside of the courtroom.
There are some major differences between barristers and solicitors. For example, an attorney that is referred to as a barrister spends most of her time in court. While not in court, that barrister is likely to be working on other issues related to future court proceedings.
In many other countries not as highly influenced by British law practices, there may be no distinction between a barrister and a solicitor at all. A person referred to as an attorney may perform both the job of a barrister and a solicitor. They will most likey both meet with clients and argue on their behalf in court. This is the case for most lawyers in the United States as well as other legal systems based on US law.

In other jurisdictions, the titles of solicitor and barrister may be used. However, a barrister may be able to meet with clients. The solicitor may also be able to argue in front of a judge in court. However, in the British legal system, these roles are much more clearly defined.

Barristers and solicitors must work together to provide a client with legal services. The barrister will go in front of a judge and argue the client’s case in the hope of obtaining a judgment preferable to the client. However, the solicitor’s job isn’t only to meet with clients. It is also to choose the barrister that will represent those clients in court.

The barrister also has many other responsibilities as well. For one, she will have to spend a serious amount of time researching and studying the different laws that may be related to a client’s case. This will include reading different verdicts for situations very alike to that of the client.

With this knowledge, the barrister can formulate a strategy to use in court. With information on precedent in this sort of case, that barrister can predict what kind of arguments and what sort of evidence is most probable to win the case.

Barristers also often provide advice to the solicitors that work with them. they may be able to give a better understanding of the law to a solicitor when needed. A solicitor does need to be very knowledgeable of the law and will probably know information regarding precedent in different kinds of cases. However, the scope of knowledge of a barrister is likely to much more vast. This will include specialized knowledge and knowledge on obscure aspects of cases a solicitor may not be aware of.

The solicitor is also likely to have information needed by the barrister as well. This will include specific information on the clients that the barrister will represent. Different clients have different needs and backgrounds. This kind of information is crucial to correctly arguing a client’s case in court.

In some cases, a barrister can have direct contact with clients. This occurs when a client needs legal advice that a barrister is best suited to give. In this case, the client would need to ask the solicitor to schedule a meeting with the barrister.

Barristers can specialize in a broad array of different segments of the law. One such segment is employment law. Cases that come under this area of the law can involve discrimination or unfair employment practices. One attorney with over twenty years of experience in employment law is Damian McCarthy Barrister (now an Advocate at Nationwide Employment Lawyers). Damian is one barrister with the experience needed to obtain clients with employment claims the best possible outcome in court.