The Legal profession in England and Wales overwhelmingly consists of two distinct professions:

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

s and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

s. Other common legal professions in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

include legal executives and licensed conveyancers. There are also stately positions which involve legal practice, such as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

or Director of Public Prosecutions.

Barristers and solicitors

Solicitors provide legal services and legal advice, and operate across a range of practice areas. Although a substantial number of sole practicioners exist, solicitors are usually employed by a law firm. All solicitors and their firms are approved and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The Law Society is the professional body representing solicitors. Barristers are a wholly separate profession to solicitors - they follow different rules and provide different services. They are not usually the first port of call for people seeking legal advice. Instead, they typically receive instructions from a solicitor representing a client, and then represent the client at court and present their case. However, barristers do still advise clients and sometimes initiate legal proceedings on their behalf. All barristers are approved and regulated by the Bar Standards Board, and the Bar Council is the professional body representing barristers.

Barristers

Education and organisation

Becoming a

Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

requires membership of one of the four

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, namely

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

, and

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. The Inns provide support for barristers and student barristers through a range of educational activities, lunching and dining facilities, access to common rooms and gardens, and provision of various grants and

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

s. One of the key functions of the Inns is their responsibility for calling barristers to the Bar. Anyone wishing to train for the Bar must join one of the Inns and it is the Inns alone which have the power to call a student to the Bar. Alongside this responsibility, the Inns also have a role in administering disciplinary

tribunal A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a singl ...

s to deal with more serious complaints against barristers. Members can be lawyers or judges and moreover prospective barristers. All four Inns have the Council of Legal Education in common which organizes education and exams of the affiliated law students. The Council of Legal Education and the Board of Examiners jointly regulate entry to the Legal Profession. The role of the Council is to determine the requirements for admission, to approve law courses and practical legal training providers, and to assess the qualifications of overseas practitioners. The Board determines the eligibility of individual applicants for admission and provides the certificate upon which the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

relies when admitting an applicant to practice as a lawyer. For studies at an Inn an applicant needs to provide a comprehensive A-level, a good educational background, and an unblemished reputation. During three years of education a student needs to pass two main exams: The first part is theoretical, which university graduates usually are spared. The second part consists of practical courses and is an assumption and obligation for becoming a barrister ( Bar Vocational Course). After calling to the bar, a young barrister has to pass a yearlong

pupillage A pupillage, in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan and Hong Kong, is the final, vocational stage of training for those wishing to become practising barristers. Pupillage is similar to an apprenticeship, during which ba ...

with an experienced barrister before being allowed to practice law self-employed.

Fields of practice

The main actions of barristers involve going to court, especially to the higher courts. They make speeches in front of the court, they write briefs, they give legal advice, and they provide expert opinion for difficult cases. Usually they use briefs of professional clients, solicitors, and

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

s. The barristers analyze the briefs and bring the results to the court. At the moment, there are approximately 10,000 barristers in England and Wales. Most of them have their offices in London. Their elite still form the King's Counsels, from which many of the judges for higher courts are chosen. The King's Counsels are publicly known for wearing

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

gowns. Meeting the requirements of the Public Access Scheme enables barristers to accept instructions directly from lay members of the public rather than a professional client.

Solicitors

Education and organisation

Solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

s have their own professional association called The Law Society, established in 1826. In order to become a solicitor, trainees usually take a three-year undergraduate law degree (LL.B.) followed by a one-year Legal Practice Course and then, assuming the examinations have been passed, are employed for two years as trainee solicitors, a form of

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

until about 1990 called

articled clerk Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously three ...

. Those with a degree other than in law must complete a law conversion ( Graduate Diploma in Law) one-year course after their degree and before their legal practice course (so 5 years of full time study rather than 4) but still followed by 2 years working as a trainee solicitor in a firm of solicitors. There are some schemes permitting qualification without an undergraduate degree but they are the exception, not the rule. For qualified lawyers from recognised foreign jurisdictions, as well as barristers from England and Wales, the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS) was introduced in September 2010 to provide a route to qualify as a solicitor. From 2022 new post-graduate examinations are planned for those who have not started qualification down the current path under which graduates will need to pass examinations known as SQEI and SQEII either before or during a 2-year period of recognised training similar to the training contract. This is not yet in force. Under the current system after being successful in the examinations and completing satisfactorily the two-year training contract, the candidates may request the

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ...

to admit them as solicitors whereupon they become Solicitors of the Senior Courts of England and Wales.

Areas of practice

The field of action of a solicitor is versatile and cannot be easily displayed. A solicitor stays in direct contact to their clients and gives them personal

legal advice Legal advice is the giving of a professional or formal opinion regarding the substance or procedure of the law in relation to a particular factual situation. The provision of legal advice will often involve analyzing a set of facts and advising a p ...

. Clients can be members of the public, businesses, voluntary bodies, charities etc. A solicitor prepares the

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

for their clients and represents their parties personally in the lower courts (magistrates' courts, county courts and tribunal). In cases on higher courts (High Court or higher) where a barrister is necessary, a solicitor acts as an agent. Moreover, solicitor's practice is comparable to notary public. Dealing with conveyancing as well as trust businesses, developing last wills, and administrating estates are parts of solicitors' practice. Furthermore, a solicitor oversees contract conclusion and consulting in various fields of law like tax, competition, insurance, and company law. Profitable real estate businesses makes over 50% of the solicitor's income . Currently there are approximately 160,000 practising solicitors in England and Wales. 25% are in an employer-employee relationship at companies, bigger solicitor offices or administrations. 75% are self-employed .

Sole practitioner

A sole practitioner works on his or her own, has no partners, and usually handles smaller cases, most of which dealing with subjects such as

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

employment law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

, and

housing law Legal scholars and practitioners generally discuss laws that affect housing within the context of real property, landlord–tenant law, mortgage law, laws that forbid housing discrimination, laws that attempt to preserve affordable housing, etc. ...

Other legal professions

Judge

The English legal system requires judges, except for the honorary Justices of the peace at magistrates courts, to first practise for several years as a barrister or solicitor with a good reputation. County-court judges are appointed by the Crown with the suggestion of Lord Chancellor. They have to practise as a barrister or solicitor for at least seven years before they can be appointed. To practise in the High Court, judges need to be proposed by the Lord Chancellor and need to be barristers or solicitors for a minimum of ten years. Judges at the Court of Appeal are appointed by the King as recommended by the

Judicial Appointments Commission The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is an independent commission that selects candidates for judicial office in courts and tribunals in England and Wales and for some tribunals whose jurisdiction extends to Scotland or Northern Ireland. ...

; they have to have experiences as a barrister or solicitor for 15 years. For the appointment of judges of the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, it is the same case; moreover, they are appointed as Life Peers. In order to become a

Law Lord Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

, a judge needs to practise for at least 15 years as a barrister or solicitor, or for two years in a high judgeship. The Prime Minister also recommends candidates for Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice, and the Master of the Rolls to the King.

Attorney-General and Solicitor-General

The

advises the Crown in legal issues and acts as plaintiff for the Crown in very important cases. The Attorney-General is a member of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

and is usually barrister with high reputation. This is true as well for the solicitor-general, who is the agent of the Attorney-General. Both belong to the ruling party in the parliament. They are appointed by the Prime Minister and must abdicate in case of change in government.

Director of Public Prosecutions

In general the Director of Public Prosecutions gives advice to police and other

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

agencies and is not a political civil servant. To become a Director of Public Prosecutions, applicants need to have at least ten years of practical experience.

CILEX Lawyers

CILEX Lawyers are members of CILEX (

Chartered Institute of Legal Executives The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) is the professional body for paralegals, CILEX lawyers and other specialist legal professionals in England and Wales. History The original name of Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX) was e ...

), a professional body with a membership of over 20,000. They qualify after studying for the CILEX Professional Qualification (CPQ), a vocational route into the legal profession, open to those with or without a university degree or equivalent qualification/experience. They undertake the same work as solicitors, giving clients both personal and business law advice. Unlike solicitors they are specialists and are qualified to practise solely in their chosen area of specialism. CILEX Lawyers operate equally alongside solicitors as authorised persons, the only difference being the specialist rather than general scope of their practising certificate and their qualification route. Typical areas CILEX Lawyers advise on are

conveyancing In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contract ...

personal injury Personal injury is a legal term for an Injury (law), injury to the body, mind, or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. In common law, common law jurisdictions the term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit in which the ...

and

. CILEX Lawyers can become partners in law firms, coroners, judges or advocates in open court.

References

{{reflist

Barristers and solicitors

Barristers

Education and organisation

Fields of practice

Solicitors

Education and organisation

Areas of practice

Sole practitioner

Other legal professions

Judge

Attorney-General and Solicitor-General

Director of Public Prosecutions

CILEX Lawyers

References

Further reading