By Mashum Mollah
A lawyer is a generic term used to refer to anyone who is a Licensed Legal Practitioner and is qualified to provide legal advice. Solicitors and barristers are both a type of lawyer, but they have different roles to play in a legal case.
Legal jargon can be very confusing, from the enduring power of attorney to probate solicitors – what does any of it mean? It’s the same with types of lawyers, the roles of solicitors and barristers can get confused so this article will look at the different duties of each. If you’re looking to hire a legal professional, this should make it easier to understand who does what and how a legal team works.
What is a solicitor and what do they do?
A solicitor is a legal professional qualified to provide legal advice and support. They can help anyone from individual people, groups, and public or private companies across the whole legal spectrum. This includes anything from family law to personal injury cases.
Solicitors take instructions from clients and provide advice around the legal action they should take. Many solicitors specialize in certain areas of law, but most are primary litigators.
They work directly with their clients, establishing the firm’s suitability in helping the client, taking their instructions, and advising them on the law relating to their case. Solicitors that deal with all the paperwork and communication to do with the case, from writing contracts and documents to prepare the papers to be used in court.
They will also negotiate with clients and the opposite party to help gather evidence and create agreements, as well as calculating claims for compensations and damages, etc.
If the case goes to court the solicitor will usually hire a barrister for expert advice or to appear in court to represent their client.
Consider Reading: What Does A Personal Injury Lawyer Do?
What is a barrister and what do they do?
A barrister offers specialist legal advice to clients, representing people and organizations in court and through written advice. They are usually hired by a solicitor to appear in court on behalf of their client.
Their role is to portray their client’s view of events, putting it into legal arguments and persuading others to vote in favor of their client.
Depending on their expertise and the area of law they work in, a barrister’s work can vary. From advising clients on the law to strengthening their case, they essentially must present the case and persuade the court in their favor. They will also negotiate settlements.
Most barristers are self-employed and work in offices known as Chambers. As they are all dependent on one another, barristers from the same chambers are able to work on different sides of a dispute. They must also follow the Cab Rank Rule which means a barrister is unable to refuse a case.
As barristers are hired by solicitors to work on a case, solicitors must brief the barrister first meaning that they cannot be instructed by clients directly. However, if a barrister is a member of the Public Access Scheme, then a member of the public can go to a barrister directly for any legal advice.
What are the key differences between Solicitors And Barristers?
- Barristers are independent of each other, so they can act on different sides on the same legal case, whereas solicitors who work in the same law firm wouldn’t be able to do so as it would be a conflict of interest.
- Solicitors usually hire barristers to represent a case in court.
- Barristers usually specialize in a specific area of law, whereas many solicitors are primary litigators.
- Most barristers in England and Wales are self-employed, whereas most solicitors work for a law firm.
- Solicitors are the first point of call for legal advice, clients cannot go straight to a barrister (unless the barrister is a member of the Public Access Scheme).
Hopefully, that’s cleared up the differences between solicitors and barristers. You now know the different roles they play in the legal system and who to go to first if you have a legal dispute. Although they are both a type of lawyers, they have different job roles and rules to follow.
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