A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching the philosophy, hypothesis and history of law, and giving expert legal opinions. Often, barristers are also recognised as legal scholars.
A lawyer or attorney is a person who practices law, as an advocate, attorney, attorney at law, barrister, barrister-at-law, bar-at-law, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, counsellor, counselor at law, solicitor, chartered legal executive, or public servant preparing, interpreting and applying law, but not as a paralegal or charter executive secretary. Working as a lawyer involves the practical application of abstract legal theories and knowledge to solve specific individualized problems, or to advance the interests of those who hire lawyers to perform legal services.
A solicitor is a legal practitioner 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 practise there as such. For example, in England and Wales a solicitor is admitted to practise under the provisions of the Solicitors Act 1974. With some exceptions, practising solicitors must possess a practising certificate. There are many more solicitors than barristers in England; they undertake the general aspects of giving legal advice and conducting legal proceedings.
A Queen's Counsel, or King's Counsel during the reign of a king, is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the monarch to be one of "Her Majesty's Counsel learned in the law." The term is recognised as an honorific. The position exists in some Commonwealth jurisdictions around the world, but other Commonwealth countries have either abolished the position, or re-named it to eliminate monarchical connotations, such as "Senior Counsel" or "Senior Advocate". Queen's Counsel is an office, conferred by the Crown, that is recognised by courts. Members have the privilege of sitting within the bar of court.
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received a "call to the bar". "The bar" is now used as a collective noun for barristers, but literally referred to the wooden barrier in old courtrooms, which separated the often crowded public area at the rear from the space near the judges reserved for those having business with the Court. Barristers would sit or stand immediately behind it, facing the judge, and could use it as a table for their briefs.
Legal ethics, principles of conduct that members of the legal profession are expected to observe in their practice. They are an outgrowth of the development of the legal profession itself.
A professional association seeks to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession and the public interest. In the United States, such an association is typically a nonprofit organization for tax purposes.
The Victorian Bar is the bar association for the Australian State of Victoria. Its members are barristers registered to practise in Victoria. On 2 April 2014, there were 2738 counsel practising as members of the Victorian Bar. Once a barrister has been admitted to practise by the Supreme Court of Victoria, he or she is usually eligible to join the Victorian Bar. The Victorian Bar is affiliated with the Australian Bar Association and is a member of the Law Council of Australia.
The Law Institute Victoria (LIV) is a legal society in the Australian state of Victoria. It is the professional association for solicitors in Victoria, making rules to regulate their practice, and representing them to governments and other bodies. The Institute was founded in 1859. The current President, since 1 January 2019, is Stuart Webb and the current CEO is Adam Awty.
An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are distinct practising certificates.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales.
The Law Society of British Columbia is the regulatory body for lawyers in British Columbia, Canada.
The Law Society of Ireland is the educational, representative and regulatory body of the solicitors' profession in the Republic of Ireland. As of 2011, the Law Society had over twelve thousand members, all solicitors, a staff of 207 and an annual turnover of €30m.
The Malaysian Bar is a professional body which regulates the profession of lawyers in peninsular Malaysia. In Malaysia, there is no distinction between a barrister and a solicitor, in that, it is a fused profession. Membership into the Bar is automatic and mandatory. The bar was created under the Legal Profession Act 1976. Like other bar associations around the world, it has a wide range of functions, including, to protect the reputation of the legal profession, to uphold the cause of justice, to express its views on matters relating to legislations, and others.
The Legal Services Board is an independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales. It is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, created through the Legal Services Act of 2007.
Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) is an organisation that focuses on helping and protecting the legal rights of socially and economically disadvantaged people in the state of Victoria, Australia. It provides information, referral, advice and legal representation services in family, civil and criminal law within Victoria.
The Law Society of New South Wales is a professional association which represents over 29,000 solicitors in Australia. The Law Society has statutory powers and regulates the practice of law in New South Wales.
The Nova Scotia Barristers' Society is the statutory body charged with the regulation of the legal profession in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
In Australia, Trust money is held by a law firm on a client's behalf in a trust account with a bank. Trust money is held in connection with the provision of legal services and is highly regulated. A lawyer or law firm should not appropriate a client's trust money until certain regulations are met, which are different for each State in Australia. The Australian system regulating lawyers and their trust accounts has been labeled by the Rudd Government as an "unwieldy monster".
The Legal Profession Uniform Law Act (LPUL) took effect in New South Wales on 1 July 2015. The Uniform Law creates a common legal services market across NSW and Victoria, encompassing almost three-quarters of Australia’s lawyers. The scheme aims to harmonize regulatory obligations while retaining local performance of regulatory functions.
