Barristers and solicitors are law and enforcement-related professions that mainly deal with court proceedings.
They could either work within a court or carry out legal documentation outside of 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 faced by a specific client throughout their time in the office.
Barrister vs Solicitor
The main difference between barrister and solicitor is that barristers are mainly seen practicing 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 in their part in ensuring victory to his/her client. But in a specific case involving two parties, the barristers from both sides can’t win as victory is assured only one of them.
Solicitor is a law profession with a lot of responsibilities once they commit to a certain work. They are required to make sure that whatever they promise a client of achieving is possible and would be a success. They usually stay within the office in law firms and deal with most of the law proceedings that happen outside the courthouse.
Comparison Table Between Barrister and Solicitor
| Parameters of Comparison | Barrister | Solicitor |
| Higher Position | Is considered to be higher in position | Is considered to be lower in position |
| Office Presence | Less | More |
| Court Training | Yes | Barely any |
| Period of Vocational Course | Usually 1 year | Can be between1-3 years |
| 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 as a legal person in front of society and are not an exception to any law enforcement.
Just like all law professionals, barristers are also required to provide advice to their clients that help them in gaining the upper hand in a court case.
Barristers usually represent a certain person in court and fight cases for them and defend the client based on the nature of the case.
Barristers don’t generally practice in all law areas.
They are commonly known to perfect themselves in certain 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 others in the law enforcement field.
In general, they hold most of the higher positions in court.
Their training comes as part of a vocational unit that can be continued as soon as law school gets over.
This vocational training is called bar training after the LLB course.
This self-employment gives the barristers uncertainty in the income that they receive.
The number of clients a barrister has during a month can influence their income.
During holidays, their income can see a massive dip and so during times the barrister takes a vacation from work.
What is Solicitor?
Solicitors are law practitioners who need to be an LLB graduate to obtain a license from the bar council.
Their main area of expertise is with documentation and paperwork that relates to legal issues and disputes.
They are needed by clients to process and clear legal documents and to even keep up with consecutive paper works coming from courts relating to a client.
They keep a constant check for individual clients if they have any pending papers or documents that need to be cleared by the court.
They provide advice to clients on how to handle a dispute that might have come up in the documentation of certain factors like property.
Their area of expertise isn’t limited to any one area, for they have to be content in almost all areas of law as their clients could have an issue with anything.
Their major presence is in the office and law firms under major advocates practicing 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 usually for 1-2 years after law school.
After that, there is a further 2 years of training to pass the solicitors qualifying exam.
Solicitors are usually assured of a steady income as they are hired by law firms and 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 usually 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 involved for solicitors might go as high as 3 years or 4 years while that of a barrister is just 1-2 years.
Conclusion
Barristers are the ones a client need when they are in trouble or need a lawyer to get them out of a sentence.
Solicitors are usually seen needed in cases relating to property division or sale as well as any legal document that needs to be checked with the court.
The type of training given the two are different even though both are law school graduates.
The training period varies with the experience and the most sought barristers and solicitors.
Both could be employed at a law firm or even self-employed.
Self-employment is commonly seen with barristers who are well trained and have a huge client base.
References
- 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