People working in the legal profession - part 1, solicitors

There is much confusion amongst the public as regards precisely what the different types of lawyers are. For those of you who are not sure, this series of articles will seek to set the record straight.

Solicitors

Solicitors are qualified lawyers. They will have obtained their legal qualification (usually starting with a law degree) and gone through their various professional exams. After that they have to work as a trainee to become fully qualified. The usual route for someone becoming a solicitor is to read law at university, and then do the additional qualification exams for a year at one of the colleges of law. Then they have to find a firm of solicitors that will give them a training contract. At the end of the training contract, they are qualified. During the training contract they'll be working full-time, being paid, and hopefully finding both what they enjoy and what they are good at.

Barristers

Next week I will describe the position of barristers in more detail, but it is important to bear in mind that solicitors and barristers are all qualified lawyers in one part of the profession or another. Although people move between the professions (I know some very successful solicitors who were previously barristers, and some very successful barristers who were previously solicitors), they are distinct professions and neither is a stepping stone to the other. I have met people who seem to think that you have to have been a solicitor before you become a barrister. That is a complete misunderstanding.

Rights of Audience

Once solicitors are qualified then there is a large range of work that they can do. Any solicitor has "rights of audience" (i.e. they are allowed to appear in court, represent the client, involving speaking and asking questions) in courts other than the High Court (including of course the Appeal Courts) and the Crown Court. These days those solicitors who have obtained "higher rights of audience" (i.e. they are officially accepted as suitable advocates to appear in those courts) can also appear in the High Court and Crown Court.

Solicitors first

If you want to go and obtain legal advice, then you usually go to a solicitor first. (At the present time, unless you are a "designated professional" with a qualification from a recognised professional body, such as a surveyor or accountant, or you are a listed "direct access" client, you cannot go straight to a barrister for advice, and even if you can if your case is going to end up in court you still need a solicitor). The solicitor will give you your initial advice. Between yourself and your solicitor, you will then decide whether you need a barrister, and if so who, and if so for what parts of the work.

Firms

Solicitors work in all areas of the law. Solicitors may operate a firm on their own (known as a "sole practitioner") or they may be partners with one or more other solicitors, known as a "firm". Solicitors firms vary almost as much as the areas of law in which they operate. In a small town you might find a firm with one or two solicitors, doing all sorts of general work for local clients. Or you might find a firm which specialises in a particular area of law. Personal injury claims (traffic or work accidents), traffic law (driving charges such as speeding or driving with excess alcohol), construction claims (delay or defects in building work) or employment (claims by the employer or the employee about contractual entitlements or job loss). Some small firms can concentrate on a small niche area of work and have clients from all over the place.

At the other end of the scale some city firms are virtually as big as a multinational company. Indeed some of them are multinational, operating across various countries. In between there are firms of all types. Ultimately of course, what the client wants is a solicitor who is good at the particular type of case they need help on, whether that solicitor is in a big, medium-sized or small firm.

Some solicitors will spend their entire time advising and never going to court. Others will spend virtually all of their time in court.

Partners

Firms of solicitors are much more businesslike these days, and far less traditional. The aim in any firm for the would-be solicitor is firstly to get a proper job as a solicitor once your training contract is finished (it does not automatically follow that successful completion of the training contract will mean that you are kept on as a qualified solicitor), and then eventually to be admitted as a full partner in the firm. (That is also known as an "equity" partner. As your status within the firm increases you might be termed a partner and put as such on the letter heading, but only a full equity partner has a share in the firm to effectively be a co-owner of it). Once you are a full partner then you'll get a share in the overall profits (or if things go wrong have to share in the losses!) rather than just receive a salary. Being a partner in the right firm is the way to really make money as a solicitor. It used to be the case that once you were a partner you were a partner for life. Nowadays firms are much more ruthless about getting rid of partners who do not justify their status.

Managing Partner

To succeed firms of solicitors need not just solicitors to do the work, but also solicitors who will bring in the work. Solicitors have to be business minded to succeed, as well is legally talented. Many large firms have a managing partner, who although an expert lawyer will often spent much of his time making sure that the business runs properly. These managing partners will often serve a short-term for a few years and then go back to their role within the partnership of doing their legal work full-time.

Michael J. Booth QC