Legal Profession Categorization in the United Kingdom - Essay Example

Legal Profession in the United Kingdom – Barristers and Solicitors Introduction The legal profession in the United Kingdom is branched into two categories – barristers and solicitors. The categorization is attributable primarily to the Kingdom’s history, rather than any deliberate attempts of bringing about this division. (1) This write-up would be examining the role essayed by both the profiles. It would go on to argue in favor of allowing the barristers and solicitors to be continuing with their distinct identities, rather than attempting to combine both the profiles into one. Legal System of the UK - Role of Barristers and Solicitors In the legal system, the rights and privileges of the Barrister are more extensive than those pertaining to a Solicitor. Even in the contemporary era and after various legal reforms, there are just a handful of solicitors enjoying the same position as that of barristers. A barrister defends their client in a court of law, whereas the profession of a solicitor is confined predominantly to drafting of relevant legal papers, of course barring exceptional cases. Mostly, the barrister carries out his profession independently, and the solicitor is employed by firms subsequent to partnership agreements. (2) Under the legal structure of the UK, solicitors provide advice to their clients, which are comprised mainly of various firms, in legal matters. In the event of the legal matters involving too many intricacies, they seek the guidance of barristers. In certain exceptional instances, as stipulated by the law, solicitors do have the right to defend their clients in the court. Barring these cases that can more or less be considered as rare ones, otherwise, the right of audience in a court is the exclusive privilege of the barrister. (1) When comparison is drawn between the legal profession and the medical one, the role of a solicitor can conveniently be equated to that of a doctor providing services in the realm of general medicine. Likewise, the barrister’s role is on par with that of a doctor specializing in their chosen discipline of medicine. (1) At this juncture, it would be highly relevant to be shifting the focus on to certain sections of the UK’s society strongly arguing in favor of combining the profiles of a barrister and a solicitor in a manner so as to enable the existence of just a single profile. In the event of the manifestation of such a scenario, the disadvantages would be way outweighing any advantages, much against the claims of the proponents of this fusion. At this point, it would be worthwhile to elaborate on the disadvantages resulting from the aforesaid scenario, as well as highlight the importance of allowing both the profiles to be retaining their respective distinct identities. Fusion of Both the Profiles – An Analysis The sections of the UK society advocating that there need to be a fusion of both the professions (barristers and solicitors), maintain that the presence of these two separate profiles necessitates people who are seeking legal assistance, to incur heavy expenses. They continue their argument by stating that fusing of the professions and enabling the advent of a single profile of legal expertise would simplify the matters for clients, along with minimizing the relevant financial burden. That all these arguments of theirs’ are devoid of any factual basis can be best comprehended by making a note of the following. (1) Overall, the legal expenses in the scenario of the UK are significantly less than those of countries where there is just a single profile in the legal structure. Moreover, the proponents of the fusion would be helping themselves in noting that even when there is no official division of the legal system, in a substantial chunk of cases; people are entailed to utilize the services of two lawyers. The same is attributable to the numerous intricacies involved in understanding and interpreting the law. (1) Probably, the biggest disadvantage resulting from the combining of the profiles is lack of clarity! Seekers of legal help, in all likelihood, would be confused about the expert to be consulted for their particular need. In these circumstances, there is every possibility that they could end up approaching the wrong person, and thus giving scope for many further complications. Here, further elaboration on this aspect would be of immense help. In the scenario of presence of just a single profession subsequent to merging of the two profiles, it would be rather difficult to identify and locate an expert who can effectively address the given issue. On the contrary, in the prevalent scenario of the two different professions, people can very swiftly locate the expert related to their problems – there is a solicitor for minor legal issues and a barrister for complex matters! This highly vital aspect of clarity would unfortunately become a thing of the past, in case of barristers and solicitors being necessitated to function with a single identity! Another major disadvantage, from the perspective of a barrister, needs to be dwelled upon. A barrister is an expert in handling legal issues and providing apt guidance to the clients, and this expertise is the outcome of long years of dedication and hard work. In light of this, it would be rather painful for the barrister, to say the least, to be forgoing their identity and fusing with a profession that has always been viewed as being secondary to theirs’. It would be no exaggeration in stating that, any attempt to combine the two profiles is tantamount to displaying utter disregard for the capabilities of barristers. At this point, the focus needs to be also on the monetary aspect resulting from the fusion, from the viewpoint of clients. When the legal system of the UK is constituted of just a single profession, people confronted by minor legal hassles would be at a loss. Under the dual system, these people always have the option of approaching a solicitor for trivial matters, and that too by incurring minimum possible legal costs. But when the system comprises of just one kind of expert, surely, clients will end up by paying more as there would be no exclusive profile classified as the one for “not-that-serious legal matters”. In the field of healthcare, would it be acceptable if both the general practitioners and the specialists are combined to be having only one identity, and the same being the sole recourse for patients with different ailments – both major and also minor problems? The only candid answer to this question is an emphatic “No!” Then, definitely the same should be applicable for the legal profession, and both profiles should be allowed to continue operating separately! Real Cases At this point, a few real cases highlighting the importance of barristers need to noted: Abse v Smith (1986) CA: In this case, the trial judge did not permit a solicitor to read an apology. The reason for this objection was the fact that the person intending to present the apology was neither a barrister nor any other official authorized by law. Moreover, the relevant circumstance could in no way be categorized as a compelling one. Here, this ruling by the trial judge was upheld. (3) McKenzie v McKenzie (1970): In a divorce case and in the courtroom, the husband was accompanied by a barrister from Australia, for providing guidance. The judge disallowed the same and ordered the barrister to leave the courtroom. The subsequent appeal of the husband was upheld, based upon a related case of about 150 years ago, and he was enabled to seek advice from the barrister. (3) Rondel v Worsley (1967): Here, the accused seriously injured a person, and in the court, provided a barrister with a “dock brief”. The accused faced conviction. Later, he appealed on the grounds that the barrister had not defended him properly. But the appeal was rejected, as the public policy fully justifies the immunity of a barrister. (3) The above are just a few of the innumerable cases that go on to emphasize the high levels of importance attached to the profile of a barrister, under the legal structure. At this point, it won’t be out of place in stating the fact that, in terms of interpretation of the common law, barristers are generally way ahead of solicitors. This interpretation is based on knowledge of precedents and the professional intuition, and not on anything in written format in law books. That barristers’ capability, in this connection, is both unquestionable and unrivalled warrants no special mention. Conclusion Owing to the contents discussed in this write-up, it can be understood that fusing of both these professions of the legal system would be against the interests of the society. Hindrances should not be created in the present system where the two profiles function with their own distinct identities. Based on their respective legal needs, people should always be having the clear choice about the person to be approached – barrister or solicitor. TOTAL NUMBER OF WORDS INCLUDING HEADINGS - 1483 SOURCES 1) “Legal-Directory.net - UK Legal Services”, legal-directory.net/english-law/the-legal-profession.htm, Internet, “Legal-Directory.net - UK Legal Services”, ND 2) “law-bytes Barristers and Solicitors. A Difference?”, swarb.co.uk/lawb/genBarrSoli.shtml, Internet, swarb.co.uk, June 17th 2009. 3) “Cases – barristers and solicitors”, sixthformlaw.info/02_cases/mod1/cases_barristers_solicitors.htm#Abse v Smith [1986] CA, Internet, Sixth Form Law, ND. (Please note that wherever sources have been used, I re-phrased all the contents in my own words so as to avoid plagiarism) Read More