Shiksha With Bharat Express: Lawyer? Barrister? Attorney? Advocate?

Know thy legal professional : It’s not easy having to deal with any matter that gets one involved with the law. This morning I got a call from the lawyer and then I called the advocate back. His wife answered and said “Barrister sir is not home”. I went to the attorney’s house and now I am not sure who I was trying to contact.

We often interchangeably use these terms for those in the legal profession. But in reality they are very different and apply to people in very different roles.

Shiksha with Bharat Express is here to educate you on the same.

Lawyer
Anyone who has graduated with a law degree is simply called a lawyer.
Different countries have different duration of courses for law graduation. India has a 3 year as well as 5 year system. The important thing here to note is that a lawyer cannot represent clients.

Barrister
It’s similar to the lawyer with a geographical difference.Law graduates from England, Wales, New Zealand and Australia are called Barristers. Similar to the lawyer , the barrister cannot represent a client. he/she has to get a licence from the bar council to practise law. 

Solicitor
A solicitor is involved in a lot of the details and paperwork. His/her work includes proofreading documents, meeting clients, drafting work, making case notes and other such detailed work related to the case. Once a client comes on board the solicitor’s world starts and it  is further handed over when it goes to court. Normally proofreads documents, meets clients, drafts case notes and these types of things. Basically, a solicitor gets the case when a client walks in the door and hands it off when it goes to the court stage. So a majority of work is done by a solicitor.
In more recent years, the solicitors are doing more and more advocacy and now the barristers have public access as well. Unlike earlier times when a solicitor would approach a barrister for specialist advice. Advocate

Senior Advocate
This title is conferred upon  by the Supreme Court or High Court with some prerequisites which can get someone this title. country to country. In India, 45 years of age and at least 20 years of practice as an advocate is mandatory. 

Attorney General
An advocate who is fighting a case on behalf of the government is called an attorney general. His job is to give advice as well as represent the government.