A
barrister is a
lawyer found in many
common law jurisdictions which employ a split profession (as opposed to a
fused profession) in relation to legal representation. In split professions, the other type of lawyer is the
solicitor. Solicitors have more direct contact with the clients, whereas barristers often only become involved in a case once
advocacy before a court is needed by the client. Barristers are also engaged by solicitors to provide specialist advice on points of law. Barristers are rarely, if ever, instructed by clients directly (although this occurs frequently in tax matters). Instead, the client's solicitors will instruct a barrister on behalf of the client when appropriate.
The historical difference between the two professions -- and the only essential difference in England and Wales today -- is that a solicitor is an attorney, which means they can act in the place of their client for legal purposes (as in signing contracts), and may conduct litigation by making applications to the court, writing letters in litigation to the client's opponent and so on. A barrister is not an attorney and is usually forbidden, either by law or professional rules or both, from "conducting" litigation. This means that while the barrister speaks on the client's behalf in court, the barrister may only do so under supervision of the client's solicitor. This difference in function explains many of the practical differences between the two professions.
Many countries such as the United States do not observe a distinction between barristers and solicitors. Attorneys are permitted to conduct all aspects of litigation and appear before those courts where they have been admitted to the bar.
The practical difference between the two professions is twofold
