DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOLICITOR AND BARRISTER
Difference Between Solicitor and Barrister: The Work
Put very simply, barristers tend to practise as advocates representing clients in
court, whereas solicitors tend to perform the majority of their legal work in a law
firm or office setting. There are, however, exceptions to this rule in both cases.
From an advocacy perspective, for example, the line between the two professions
has become more blurred in recent times. Solicitors can obtain ‘rights of audience’
which enables them to represent clients in court. This means that solicitors can now
perform many of the functions of a barrister up to a certain point, although
barristers are able to work in a significantly higher level of court than their solicitor
counterparts.
Although many solicitors do have rights of audience, the majority of them typically
perform ‘behind the scenes’ type-work such as:
Advising people who come to them with legal issues
Holding negotiations and discussions between parties who are trying to reach
agreement on a legal issue
Drafting and reviewing legal documents, such as contracts
Difference Between Solicitor and Barrister: The Training
Following completion of a qualifying law degree, or a non-law degree and a law
conversion course, such as the GDL, you need to make the decision as to whether
you wish to practice as a solicitor or barrister because this is where the road splits:
To become a solicitor, you must complete a vocational 1-2 year course called the
Legal Practice Course (LPC) which is designed to prepare you for solicitor practice.
Following this, you must complete a 2 year training contract, which is practical legal
work experience (typically carried out in a law firm) which must be completed in
order to qualify as a solicitor. Your training contract allows you to explore
different areas of law, you will spend terms in different ‘seats’.
To qualify as a barrister, on the other hand, you need to complete the Bar
Professional Training Course (BPTC). After this, fledgling barristers will do a 1-
year pupillage, which usually takes place in chambers. Pupillage involves shadowing
a barrister before getting involved in the practical work of chambers.
