Barristers and solicitors

• Barristers


  Self-employed legal professionals who usually work from Chambers and specialize in advocacy
• Solicitors


  Legal professionals who work in private firms, the Crown Prosecution Service, or government departments, and advise clients on a variety of legal issues
• Training of Solicitors


  1. Academic Stage: Law degree or one year conversion course

  2. Vocational Stage: Legal Practice Course (LPC)

  3. Practical Stage: Training Contract (2 years work experience)
• Training of Barristers


  1. Academic Stage: Law degree or one year conversion course

  2. Vocational Stage: Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC)

  3. Practical Stage: Pupillage (12 months on-the-job training)
• Work of Solicitors


  • Advise clients on criminal, family, business, and housing issues
  • Draw up wills and other legal documents
  • Interview clients and negotiate to avoid going to court
  • Represent clients in court (advocacy)
• Work of Barristers


  • Advocacy in all courts
  • Prepare legal opinions for clients
  • Draft documents for use in court
• King's Counsel (KC)


  Senior barristers or solicitors with advocacy qualifications who deal with complicated and high-profile cases
• Work of Legal Executives

  • Specialize in a particular area of law
  • Handle various legal aspects of a property transfer
  • Draft wills
  • Advise clients on matrimonial problems
  • Advise clients accused of a crime
  • Can appear in court in some cases
• Around 136,000 solicitors in England and Wales
• Around 20,000 legal executives in England and Wales
• Complaints against Solicitors


  • Client complains to the firm first
  • If unresolved, complaint made to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
  • SRA investigates complaints about professional misconduct
  • In serious cases, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal can suspend or strike off a solicitor
• Complaints against Barristers


  • Complaint made to the chambers from which the barrister practices
  • If unresolved, complaint made to the Bar Standards Board (BSB)
  • BSB investigates complaints and can discipline barristers
• Complaints against Legal Executives

  • Complaint made to the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) Regulation Board
  • CILEx Regulation Board investigates complaints and can reprimand, warn, or refer serious matters to a Disciplinary Tribunal
• Final Step for Complaints

  Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints about the handling of complaints by the SRA, BSB, and CILEx Regulatory Body
• Jury Qualification Factors


  • Deaf people
  • Blind people
  • Armed forces
  • Police check
  • Political beliefs
  • Mental disorder
  • Young
  • Bail
  • 5 years
  • 10 years
  • Compulsory
  • Random
  • Secret
  • Community orders
  • Reason
  • Media
  • Judge
  • 12
  • 18
  • Jury summons
  • Crown Court
  • For cause
  • Unanimous
  • To the array
  • Electoral Register
  • Ford
  • Romford
  • 13
• The Judiciary


  Collective term for a group of judges
• Judicial Hierarchy


  • Justices of the Supreme Court
  • Lord Justices of Appeal
  • High Court Judges (puisne judges)
  • Circuit Judges
  • Recorders (part-time Judges)
  • District Judges
  • Tribunal Judges
• Role of Judges in Civil Cases

  • District Judge (County Court): Hear first instance cases, make decisions and state remedies
  • Recorder (County Court): Same role as Circuit Judge, work part-time
  • Circuit Judge (County Court): Hear some track appeals, decide law and facts, decide who wins and what remedy is awarded
  • High Court Judge (High Court): Hear first instance cases and appeals, hear evidence, decide law, make decisions and state remedies
  • Lord Justices of Appeal (Court of Appeal): Hear appeals from High Court, decisions become precedents
  • Justices of the Supreme Court (Supreme Court): Hear appeals from Court of Appeal and High Court, hear appeals on points of law of general public importance, their decisions become precedents
• Role of Judges in Criminal Cases

  • District Judge (Magistrates Court): Try criminal cases, decide facts and law, decide sentence
  • Recorder (Crown Court): Try criminal cases, work part-time
  • Circuit Judge (Crown Court): Sit with a jury who decide facts, decide law and pass sentence
  • High Court Judge (Crown Court): Hear most serious criminal cases, hear case stated appeals from Magistrates Court
  • Lord Justices of Appeal (Court of Appeal): Hear appeals against sentence/conviction
  • Justices of the Supreme Court (Supreme Court): Hear appeals from High Court/Court of Appeal, hear appeals on points of law of general public importance, their decisions become precedents
• Barristers


  Self-employed legal professionals who usually work from Chambers and specialize in advocacy
• Solicitors


  Legal professionals who work in private solicitors firms, the Crown Prosecution Service, or government departments, and advise clients on a variety of legal issues
• Training of Solicitors


  1. Academic Stage: Law degree or one year conversion course

  2. Vocational Stage: Legal Practice Course (LPC)

  3. Practical Stage: Training Contract - 2 years work experience in a solicitors office
• Training of Barristers


  1. Academic Stage: Law degree or one year conversion course

  2. Vocational Stage: Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC)

  3. Practical Stage: Pupillage - 12 months on the job training
• Solicitors


  • Main role is to advise clients, large amount of paperwork, time spent interviewing clients and negotiating
  • Can act for clients in court and have rights of audience in Magistrates' and County courts, can apply for certificate of advocacy to appear in higher courts
• Barristers


  • Main role is advocacy, always had full rights of audience in all courts
  • Prepare "opinions" for clients and draft documents for use in court
  • Can apply to become a King's Counsel (KC) after 10 years
• Legal Executives


  Legal professionals who specialize in a particular area of law, role similar to a solicitor but usually deal with more straightforward matters, have some rights of audience in court
• Around 136,000 solicitors in England and Wales
• It is difficult to find tenancy in Chambers for barristers
• Legal executives can obtain wider rights of audience by doing a course in advocacy since 2008
• When a barrister receives a brief (case) from a solicitor

  They do not enter into a contract with the client and cannot sue if their fees are not paid, similarly the client cannot sue the barrister for breach of contract
• Under the direct access rule


  Clients can instruct barristers themselves, in which case the client could sue the barrister for breach of contract and the barrister could sue the client if fees are not paid
• It is possible to sue a barrister in the civil courts for negligence
• The House of Lords decided in Hall v Simons that advocates can be liable for negligence
• Complaints against Solicitors


  Client complains to the firm, if unresolved then complaint made to Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), SRA investigates and can suspend or strike off a solicitor in serious cases, if complainant unhappy can take case to Legal Ombudsman
• Complaints against Barristers


  Complaint made to the chambers, if unresolved then complaint made to Bar Standards Board (BSB), BSB investigates and can discipline barristers, if complainant unhappy can take case to Legal Ombudsman
• Complaints against Legal Executives

  Complaint made to the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) Regulation Board, they investigate and can reprimand/warn a member or refer serious matters to a Disciplinary Tribunal, final step is Legal Ombudsman
• The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints against the handling of complaints by the SRA, BSB and CILEx Regulatory Body
• The Legal Ombudsman can order the legal professional who was complained about to apologize, put things right, refund/reduce fees, or pay compensation up to £30,000