Britain’s bifurcated barrister-solicitor division structures who appears in court
Evidence
Most legal business is taken care of by solicitors. Currently, some 55,000 solicitors serve a population of more than 60 million. The solicitor has traditionally been a law office practitioner, advising clients on legal, business, and personal matters. Thus, solicitors’ responsibilities may run the gamut from matrimonial matters and divorce, drawing up wills, and drafting business contracts to attempt to secure redress from debtors. Until the 1980s, solicitors also held a legal monopoly on conveying property, or transferring land from one person to another, which for most solicitors was a major source of income. In addition, solicitors can appear as advocates in minor legal disputes that are resolved in limited jurisdiction courts, such as magistrates’ courts or county courts. … At times, however, a client beset by more serious legal problems may require the services of a barrister as well. Note the “as well,” for in all cases a client is obliged first to seek legal advice from a solicitor. If the solicitor believes that the problem will involve litigation in a general jurisdiction court or appellate court, it is the solicitor who selects a barrister and briefs him or her on the case. The barrister then argues the case in court. … Under the British system, a litigant in an important case may have three lawyers: the solicitor, the Queen’s counsel arguing the case, and the junior counsel assisting in the argument. Aside from tradition, is there any reason to retain this rather cumbersome and expensive division of the legal profession? According to advocates of the current system, the fusion of the legal profession would not reduce costs, because in a difficult case, a lawyer might still wish to bring in a specialized advocate with expert knowledge in the field. Moreover, systems with an undivided legal profession, such as in the United States, are hardly models of efficiency or economy. In addition, the selection of the barrister by the solicitor, rather than the client, serves to create a distance between barrister and client that enables the barrister to provide more dispassionate advice. Finally, under the “cab rank” principle, which requires barristers to take any brief sent to them, the system ensures that even the most brutal or politically unpopular defendant will obtain legal representation. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 647
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines barrister, solicitor, silk (Queen’s counsel), and the cab-rank principle.
- XREF: connects to: Barristers form a small elite within Britain’s legal profession. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 956; Britain has split its legal profession into barristers and solicitors since the fourteenth century. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 952; Britain divides lawyers into barristers and solicitors with distinct training — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 646 (+1 more)
Broader Connections
- Barristers form a small elite within Britain’s legal profession.
#expands(0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 956 - Britain has split its legal profession into barristers and solicitors since the fourteenth century.
#qualifies(0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 952