Barristers and solicitors are law and enforcement-related professions mainly dealing with court proceedings.
They could either work within a court or carry out legal documentation outside the court. They help clients with many factors in the law field by explaining and advising at times.
They are involved with all legal issues a specific client faces throughout their time in the office.
Key Takeaways
- Barristers specialize in courtroom advocacy and litigation, while solicitors handle legal matters outside of court and provide general legal advice.
- Solicitors can have direct contact with clients, whereas solicitors instruct barristers.
- Barristers are experts in specific areas of law and can provide specialized advice, while solicitors offer a broader range of services.
Barrister vs Solicitor
The difference between a barrister and a solicitor is that barristers are mainly seen practising as advocates or lawyers in the court and fighting cases, whereas solicitors are seen to be in law offices working as someone who advises clients depending on their individual needs. While solicitors are also commonly seen in courts, it’s not usual for barristers to stay at office places all day long.
The barrister is a law-related professional who helps the clients who reach out to them in cases relating to court proceedings.
They make sure that their client wins the specific case that they have been approached with and that no lapses are made on their part in ensuring victory for their client.
But in a specific case involving two parties, the barristers from both sides can’t win as victory is assured by only one of them.
A solicitor is a law professional with many responsibilities once they commit to a particular work. They must ensure that whatever they promise a client to achieve is possible and will be a success.
They stay within the office of law firms and deal with most of the law proceedings that happen outside the courthouse.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Barrister | Solicitor |
|---|---|---|
| Higher Position | Is considered to be higher in position | Usually one year |
| Office Presence | Less | More |
| Court Training | Yes | Barely any |
| Period of Vocational Course | It can be between1-3 years | It depends on the number of clients |
| Income | Depends on the number of clients | Regular and always steady |
What is Barrister?
Barristers are professionals who are branded qualified to fight a court case on behalf of an individual. They are considered legal in front of society and are not an exception to any law enforcement.
Like all law professionals, barristers are also required to provide advice to their clients that help them gain the upper hand in a court case.
Barristers represent a particular person in court, fight cases for them, and defend the client based on the nature of the case.
Barristers don’t practice in all law areas. They are known to perfect themselves in specific law fields, such as criminal or family courts. Their area of specialization depends on a person who passed out of law school.
The greater they practice under certain law areas, the better they are known among clients for that specific field. The most common position barristers see in a law court is higher than most in law enforcement.
In general, they hold most of the higher positions in court. Their training is part of a vocational unit that can be continued as soon as law school ends.
This vocational training is called bar training after the LLB course. After the vocational training comes to the one-year chamber training which is the court proceeding training, this is part of a practical test faced by barristers after law school.
Barristers are always licensed under the bar council of a specific place, and registration is necessary for them to continue the practice. Barristers can work as part of a massive law firm consisting of many such barristers or be self-employed.
This self-employment gives the barristers uncertainty in the income that they receive. The number of clients a barrister has monthly can influence their income.
During holidays, their income can see a massive dip, so the barrister takes a vacation.
What is Solicitor?
Solicitors are law practitioners who must be an LLB graduates to obtain a license from the bar council. Their main area of expertise is documentation and paperwork related to legal issues and disputes.
Clients need them to process, and clear legal documents and even keep up with consecutive papers from courts relating to a client.
They constantly check for individual clients if they have any pending papers or documents that need to be cleared by the court.
They advise clients on handling a dispute that might have come up in the documentation of certain factors like property.
Their area of expertise isn’t limited to one place, for they have to be content in almost all areas of law as their clients could have an issue with anything.
Their significant presence is in the office and law firms under foremost advocates practising under the higher courts of a country. But that doesn’t mean solicitors can’t go and do court cases.
Solicitors can obtain a ” Rights to audience” document from the court to let the court allow them the right to fight cases in front of an audience. They can be seen as proper and efficient in fighting cases as a lawyer.
Their other duties can involve negotiations between two parties who are in dispute. Such negotiations come along with paper works and small court dealings.
Legal agreements regarding properties and those between tenants and owners are all cleared by solicitors. They help review legal contracts and documents. The training given to solicitors is for 1-2 years after law school.
After that, there is a further two years of training to pass the solicitors qualifying exam. Solicitors are assured of a steady income as law firms hire them, and they are not self-employed.
Main Differences Between Barrister and Solicitor
- While it is rare for barristers to be found sitting and working in offices alone, solicitors are only concentrated within law firm offices.
- Solicitors have a steady income as they are hired under law firms, while barristers can also be self-employed and, therefore can have a broken income that might not always be steady.
- Barristers are the ones who deal with court cases, while solicitors mainly associate themselves with documentation.
- It is common to see barristers be in a higher position in court as compared to solicitors who despite the same level of education and training if not more are seen a bit lower in the law and enforcement hierarchy.
- The vocational training for solicitors might go as high as 3 years or 4 years, while that of a barrister is just 1-2 years.
- http://www.burnettlanechambers.com.au/wp-content/uploads/CV-Janelle-Payne_June-2019.pdf
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=784tRHO8mEEC&oi=fnd&pg=PP11&dq=solicitor&ots=Ry2eixopmp&sig=jGdMVfMKWu19Dey-_7bzq0TXuHw
Last Updated : 13 July, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
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