Solicitor

A solicitor is a type of lawyer who, in certain legal systems, handles the majority of everyday legal work. The specific qualifications required to become a solicitor and to practice as one are set by law and differ from one jurisdiction to another. For instance, in England and Wales, a solicitor is admitted to practice under the Solicitors Act 1974, and most practicing solicitors must hold a practicing certificate. In England, solicitors far outnumber barristers; they are responsible for giving legal advice and managing legal proceedings.

In several jurisdictions—including England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian states of New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, Hong Kong, South Africa (where they are called attorneys), and the Republic of Ireland—the legal profession is divided into solicitors and barristers (or advocates, as in Scotland). A lawyer in these places typically holds only one of these titles. In contrast, the legal profession is effectively "fused" in Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and the remaining Australian states and territories, allowing lawyers to be called "barrister and solicitor" and to practice as both. Some legal graduates initially qualify as one and later become the other. In the United States, this distinction never existed.

**Australia** Regulation of solicitors in Australia varies by state. Admission to practice is handled at the state level, but mutual recognition allows a practitioner admitted in any state or territory to practice elsewhere or at the federal level. In all states and territories, solicitors have unlimited rights of audience, meaning they can theoretically practice as a solicitor, barrister, or both. The formal title for admitted solicitors differs: in some jurisdictions they are called "legal practitioners," while in others they are "solicitors and barristers." The degree of fusion in practice varies by state. Generally, a separate bar exists, made up of practitioners who follow the traditional barrister model—working in chambers and focusing on advocacy. In some states, being called to the bar requires additional or different training. Some other practitioners work as both solicitors and barristers, while others focus mainly or exclusively on solicitors' work. The relative numbers in these last two groups differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

**England and Wales** Before the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 created the Supreme Court of Judicature, solicitors worked in equity in the Court of Chancery, attorneys practiced in the common law courts, and proctors handled "civil law" (based on Roman law) in ecclesiastical courts. The proctors' monopoly over family, inheritance, and admiralty law was removed between 1857 and 1859, and the 1873 reforms merged all three branches. After 1873, the terms "attorney" and "proctor" for legally qualified persons disappeared, replaced by "Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Judicature" (later "of the Supreme Court of England and Wales"), except for the unique government roles of Queen's (or King's) Proctor (now called "HM Procurator-General," usually held by the Treasury Solicitor) and Attorney-General. Since the judicial functions of the House of Lords were replaced by a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009, the full title is now "Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales."

The term "attorney" is still used in English law to refer to someone legally appointed or empowered to act for another person, though this person need not be legally qualified. Today, it most commonly refers to someone appointed under a "power of attorney," such as a general power of attorney under the Powers of Attorney Act 1971 or a lasting power of attorney under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Some specialists in fields like intellectual property are also called attorneys, such as registered patent attorneys, which is a separate qualification from that of a solicitor.

**Solicitors and barristers** In the English legal system, solicitors have traditionally handled any legal matter, including court proceedings, though after the profession split, solicitors were required to hire a barrister as an advocate in the High Court or above. Minor criminal cases are tried in magistrates' courts, which make up the vast majority of courts. More serious criminal cases begin in magistrates' courts and may be transferred to a higher court. Most civil cases are heard in county courts and are almost always handled by solicitors. Cases of higher value (around £100,000 or more) or unusual complexity go to the High Court, where barristers have traditionally performed advocacy in the High Court, Crown Court, and Court of Appeal. In the past, barristers did not deal directly with the public, but this strict separation no longer applies. Solicitor advocates with extended rights of audience can now act as advocates at all court levels. Conversely, the public can now hire and interact with a barrister directly for certain types of work without first going to a solicitor, following the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, which removed the barristers' monopoly on advocacy and granted solicitors rights of audience.