Professional titles

The legal profession in England is divided into two main groups: barristers and solicitors. A distinction between them is that barristers do the court work and solicitors do the office work. A barrister spends most of his time either in a courtroom or preparing his arguments for the court and a solicitor spends most of his time in an office giving advice to clients, making investigations and preparing documents.

Barristers specialize in arguing cases in front of a judge and have the right to be heard, the right of audience, even in the highest courts. They are experts in the interpretation of the law. They are called in to advise on really difficult points. The barrister is also an expert on advocacy (the art of presenting cases in court). They are not paid directly by clients, but are employed by solicitors. Barristers work in what are known as chambers. They belong to the institutions called Inns of Court, which are ancient organizations rather like exclusive clubs. Judges are usually chosen from the most senior barristers, when they are appointed they cannot continue to practice as barrister.

Solicitors do much of the preparation for cases which they then hand to barristers. Solicitors do legal work which does not come before a court, such as drawing up wills and dealing with litigation which is settled out of court. Solicitors have the right of audience in lower courts, but in higher courts they must have a barrister argue their client’s case.

In the United States there is no division of the profession and a lawyer does both office work and courtroom work. A practicing lawyer in the USA is an attorney.