In the legal profession, there are various titles such as lawyer, attorney, solicitor, counselor, barrister, and advocate, which can be confusing for those seeking legal assistance. In particular, the terms solicitor and attorney are often misunderstood. This article aims to clarify the differences between a solicitor and an attorney.
Key Takeaways
- Though both solicitors and attorneys are lawyers, they have different roles and duties to perform.
- A solicitor is a professional who is hired to draw up all the legal paperwork involved in agreements, contracts, wills, etc., and they rarely stand in a court of law to defend their clients’ cases.
- An attorney, on the other hand, is a lawyer who is trained and qualified to stand in a court of law to fight and defend the interests of their client.
The term attorney is more commonly used in the United States for a person who is trained in law and is qualified enough to represent their client’s case in a court of law. The corresponding term in the United Kingdom is barrister, and solicitor, while in India, the term advocate is commonly used to refer to legal authorities defending their clients in courts of law. While both an attorney and a solicitor are trained in law (both have studied various aspects of law in a law school for the same duration), a solicitor is a legal authority who is more concerned with drawing up agreements, contracts, wills, and other legal documents and rarely stands up in a court of law to defend their clients like an attorney.
The term lawyer is a generic and broad term that comprises both attorneys and solicitors. However, while an attorney pleads for their client in a law court, a solicitor is more in an advisory position. A solicitor is seen working in government departments and corporations, advising them on all legal matters. In India, there is a solicitor general assisted by four additional solicitor generals who are there to give legal advice to the attorney general, who stands for the government of India in the Supreme Court.
In the United Kingdom, if you go to a lawyer with your case, they may refer you to a solicitor who is an expert in drawing up all the paperwork. The solicitor then gets a barrister to stand up in a court of law to represent your case, which is the same duty fulfilled by an attorney in the United States.
