lawyer & attorney

dawn   Sat May 06, 2006 1:07 am GMT
What's the difference a lawyer and an attorney?
Guest   Sat May 06, 2006 1:31 am GMT
You can find the difference between them in a dictionary. They're normally used interchangeably, though.

attorney: someone who acts on behalf of another in legal matters
lawyer: someone who practices law
Thijs Kuiken   Sat May 06, 2006 4:08 am GMT
And just to add some salt and pepper,

Barrister: British term for a high-ranking lawyer, generally one who does the talking in court.

Solicitor: British term for a lower-ranking laywer, generally one who gives legal advice instead of appearing in court.

Advocate: Scottish term for a lower, almost the same as "attorney" in definition (i.e. someone who acts on behalf on another, etc.).

And to add some legs to the snake,

Solicitor, alternate definition: Someone who asks for money or something else (in a political, charitable, or even promiscuous sense).

Advocate: Someone who supports someone else.
Thijs Kuiken   Sat May 06, 2006 4:10 am GMT
And I forgot to add "counsel" too. It's a word for "lawyer" that's used almost everywhere, but is common speech almost nowhere.

These are all the words for "lawyer" I can think of right off the top of ma tête. That's all folks!
greg   Sat May 06, 2006 10:43 am GMT
La différence est également étymologique.

An <attorney> provient de l'ancien français <aturné>, <atorné>, <attorné>, <attourney> et d'ailleurs l'expression An <attorney general> est déjà attestée en ancien français : <atorné general>, <general attourney> etc.
Un <atorné> était soit un magistrat communal soit un procureur (agissant en justice pour une partie).

Un <soliciteur>, <solliciteur> était un 'avoué' (même racine que 'avocat') ou un procureur (représentant d'une partie).

Quant à An <lawyer>, la racine est germanique mais le suffixe d'époque moyen-anglaise est probablement issu de l'ancien français <ier>, <yer>.
dawn   Sat May 06, 2006 10:53 am GMT
Thank you guys!

Greg, thanks for your explanation but sad thing is I don't know that pretty language(French, right?) but thanks anyway.
Boy   Sat May 06, 2006 11:11 am GMT
dawn

Go to www. google. com and click on "language tools" link where you can translate french text into English. It is as easy as 1-2-3!

Here is the English version of Greg's above post.


The difference is also etymological. Year <attorney> comes from former French <aturné>, <atorné>, <attorné>, <attourney> and besides the expression An < Attorney General > is already attested as former French: <atorné general>, <general attourney> etc A <atorné> was either a communal magistrate or a prosecutor (acting as justice for a part). A <soliciteur>, <solliciteur> was a “solicitor” (even root that “lawyer”) or a prosecutor (representative of a part). As for Year <lawyer>, the root is Germanic but the suffix of means-English time results probably from former French <ier>, <yer>.
dawn   Sat May 06, 2006 11:56 am GMT
boy

Many thanks!
greg   Sat May 06, 2006 12:46 pm GMT
Note : 'An' = 'anglais', pas 'année'.
Thijs Kuiken   Sat May 06, 2006 12:53 pm GMT
Surprising. Usually, digital translations are much worse, but the above is okay. Maybe Boy did some manual editing?

[Also, translation of Greg's last post: "An = anglais = English, not 'year'."]
MaintiensLeDroit   Sat May 06, 2006 8:29 pm GMT
>>Barrister: British term for a high-ranking lawyer, generally one who does the talking in court.

Solicitor: British term for a lower-ranking laywer, generally one who gives legal advice instead of appearing in court.<<

Actually that's not strictly correct. There is no difference in rank between a barrister and a solicitor in England and Wales (they are not british occupations as not all of Britain uses them, only England and Wales).

Barrister: A barrister is someone who completed vocational training after obtaining their law degree. A barrister has rights of audience in front of all courts of law. Barristers tend to be self employed and are hired by solicitors to represent a client in court.

Solicitor: A solicitor is someone in England who carried on with their academic training after obtaining a degree (you can also work u pthe ranks of a law firm to become a solicitor but their is still some academic raining involved). Solicitors tend to deal with the clients more often than barristers. They deal with contracts, and negotiate deals, usually without going to court. Some solicitors have rights of audience in some of the lower courts. Solicitors can apply fo rrights of audience in the higher courts later in their careers. Solicitors tend to work in firms/companies/partnerships.
Guest   Sun May 07, 2006 1:01 am GMT
Solicitors can appear in court if warranted.

An attorney prior to the "fusion" of the English Courts (in 1875 by the Judicature Acts) practiced in the Common Law courts. Solicitors prior fusion practiced in Chancery. These words are now used interchangeably in some common law countries and with the word lawyer as well.

Some jurisdictions have fused Barrister and Solicitor roles, so a person who applies for admission can gain both titles. In other jurisdictions, the bar for Barristers is independent and an exam would be required to be sat or course read to allow the person to practice as a barrister. Usually in the event that someone intends to practice as a barrister in a fused system, notice must given to the legal society that they intend to practice solely as a barrister.