English for Law School Students

Unit 1. The Legal Profession

1.1 The division of the legal profession

Unlike in most other countries the legal profession in England and Wales is divided into two branches and the expression ‘lawyer’ may be used to refer to either a solicitor or a barrister. This duality of function between barristers and solicitors is peculiar to the English common law system and, indeed, is even not followed in the Diff United States.

Read the following extract which outline the differences between barristers and solicitors.

In the popular mind, the distinction between barristers and solicitors is that

the former are concerned with advocacy in court while the latter are

concerned with legal work out of court. This is not ‘quite’ the case. Barristers

are primarily concerned with advocacy and they have an exclusive right of

5 audience, in the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords;

but they are not confined to advocacy and may devote a deal of their time to

giving expert opinions on legal matters. Nor are solicitors exclusively

concerned with out of court work for they have a right of audience in

magistrates' courts, county courts and, in some instances, in the Crown

10 Court.

This division of the legal profession is a curious one and is unknown even

in many Commonwealth countries which might have been expected to adopt

the English professional model along with their adoption of the common law.

Hogan, Seago and Bennett, A Level Law (Sweet and Maxwell 1988), pp. 32 3.

1.2 Legal education and training

The education of both barristers and solicitors has common features. Both will complete the academic stage of their legal education The first or academic stage is normally satisfied by a law degree. As an alternative, non law graduates and mature students (over 25) can take a common professional examina¬tion at degree level. The second or professional stage consists of a full time vocational course and final examination, based to a greater extent on the problems likely to be encountered in practice. The solicitor takes the Final Examination under the aegis of the Law Society while the barrister takes the Bar Examination under the aegis' of the Inns of Court School of Law This is followed by what is, in effect, an apprenticeship¬ called articles for solicitors and pupillage for barristers, during which the trainee does practical work under the close supervision of an experienced member of his pro¬fession.

As to their training, the difference is more marked.

After completion of the prescribed period of articles of clerkship, the entrant will be admitted as a solicitor.

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