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When we think about the law we often think about lawyers. For many people a lawyer is someone who can represent you in court, advise you on legal matters and complete legal documents. Though this is not actually untrue, strictly speaking ‘lawyer’ is something of a general term. There are many different types of legal professional that do very distinctive jobs but still fall under the layperson’s umbrella term of ‘lawyer’. For example, solicitors and barristers can both be considered lawyers but do very different things. This article looks at the main types of legal professional that you may encounter in the legal arena and what they do. The most common type of legal professional that most people requiring legal advice may encounter are solicitors. Solicitors are often the first point of contact for clients. They are the ones who provide legal advice and support. A client will tell a solicitor about their situation and the solicitor will advise them on the best course of legal action to take. Solicitors can work with both companies and individuals. For example they may advise an individual on divorce proceedings or they may give a company advice on mergers and acquisitions. Solicitors will often specialise in certain areas of the law such as family law or criminal law. When the services of a barrister are required your solicitor will often be the one to organise this and will liaise with both the client and the barrister. So what is a barrister and what do they do? Though there are many different aspects to what barristers do, the main part is providing specialist advice and representation in court. If a particular case needs to go to court then a solicitor will hire a barrister to represent and plead the case in court. Like solicitors, barristers can provide their client with expert legal advice. They can also draft specialist legal documents and may be able to help in the negotiation of a deal. Barristers are so named because they are called to ‘the Bar’. In most cases the services of a barrister will be engaged through a solicitor, but many people are now choosing to use the Public Access Scheme which allows people to engage the services of a barrister directly without the need for a solicitor intermediary. You may also hear of the terms ‘QC’ and ‘silks’ used about barristers. A QC or Queen’s Counsel (KC or King’s Counsel during the reign of a king) is a senior barrister who has been recognised for outstanding ability. When these barristers become Queen’s Counsel they wear a particular type of silk gown and over time the process has become informally known as ‘taking silk’. QCs may also be referred to as ‘silks’. It has often been said that there are three main branches of the legal profession – solicitors and barristers make up two while the third is often reserved for legal executives. However, in recent years the roles of legal executives and solicitors have become very similar. A legal executive is able to do the same work that may be undertaken by a solicitor under the supervision of a principal. Today the main difference between solicitors and legal executives is that a legal executive will often specialise in one area while a solicitor may have experience in several areas of the law. A judge is another type of legal professional that you may encounter in a court setting. A judge will preside over court cases and proceedings and will issue a ruling on the case after hearing all witnesses and evidence from both parties. Most judicial positions require the candidate to have held a relevant legal qualification for five or seven years. Another important legal profession is a barrister’s clerk. Though the term ‘clerk’ may suggest someone who does general office tasks, the position of barrister’s clerk is actually a role that involves a great deal of responsibility, coordination and management skills. A barrister’s clerk looks after the management and administration of a set of barristers’ chambers. A junior clerk may be involved in finding law materials and references, delivering documents and making travel arrangements. A senior clerk will look after the development of the business, diary management for the barristers and some management of the finances. You may also come across the role of the paralegal. Unlike barristers, solicitors and legal executives, paralegals are not lawyers. They are, however, important members of any legal team and can have a great deal of legal knowledge. Where solicitors look at a case or a problem and give advice to the client a paralegal will carry out the course of action that has been recommended by the solicitor. Paralegals are not qualified solicitors or barristers, but will still have substantial education and training. Examples of tasks carried out by paralegals may include, filling out legal documents, undertaking research or interviewing witnesses. There are many subsections of legal professions and there are many different types of role. If you are thinking about going into the legal profession it would be worthwhile to do some research into what kind of role you would like to have. If you have a legal issue and require the services of a legal professional then knowing the differences between the main types of role can be helpful and can help you to better understand the process. © Izzy Evans 2013 If you need legal advice and would like to engage the services of a barrister directly then you can visit Public Access Barristers.
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