Role of Solicitors Model Answer

• There are around 160,000 actively practicing solicitors in England and Wales. They are usually employed in private practice (95,000) although some solicitors are employed in the public sector and work for the CPS or local government or private businesses (46,000) and the role tends to be office-based.
• The type of work done by a solicitor depends on the firm that he is in although solicitors are mainly still office-based. A small 'high street' firm may be a general practice advising clients on a range of issues (from criminal to family law) whereas an assistant in a multinational firm is more likely to be specialize in one aspect of the law.
• The biggest city firms usually concentrate on business and commercial law. All solicitors have to interview clients and deal with paperwork such as letter-wring; drafting legal documents; negotiating settlements; briefing counsel (for court cases or for opinions on complex issues).
• All solicitors can act as advocates in the lower courts (Magistrates and County Courts) and under the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, they can now apply for a certificate of advocacy to enable them to appear and represent clients in ALL courts. This involves extra training and an exam on the rules of evidence. Solicitors with this qualification (6,500) can also apply to be King's Counsel and also be appointed to higher judicial posts.