Know the difference between an advocate and a solicitor  (2024)

Who is a Solicitor?

In certain countries, a solicitor is a legal practitioner who historically handles the majority of legal proceedings. To be described as a solicitor and allowed to practice in that country, a person must have legally established qualifications, which differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Solicitors are those who advise the clients and draft documents and pleadings for the clients but engage other advocates to appear on behalf of the client, and this is the major difference between an advocate and a solicitor.

Who is an advocate?

When a lawyer enrolls in a bar council, he is referred to as an advocate. In court, he has the right to represent his clients and provide them with Best legal consultation.

This is the primary difference between an advocate and a solicitor. Solicitor just does the paperwork for his client.

Difference between an advocate and a solicitor

After reviewing the definitions of an advocate and a solicitor, you should have got a basic understanding of the differences between an advocate and a solicitor.

The following points that highlight the difference between an advocate and a solicitor might help you understand the difference between an advocate and a solicitor:

• The Difference between an advocate and a solicitor is that advocate is someone whose job is to speak for a client’s case in a court of law, while a solicitor is a type of lawyer whose traditional role is to offer legal services to clients like drafting legal documents.
• The difference between an advocate and a solicitor is that to practice law, a lawyer must graduate from law school and obtain a license, whereas a solicitor must be accepted to the ‘roll’ and enrolled as a solicitor on the Law Society register of Solicitors.
• The difference between an advocate and a solicitor is that the former is governed by the State Bar Association, while the latter is controlled by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
• The difference between an advocate and a solicitor is that the role of an advocate is to represent individuals or entities in civil or criminal matters, including litigation, whereas the role of a solicitor is to draft legal documents.
• The difference between an advocate and a solicitor is that the legal status of an advocate is that they must be licensed to practice law by the state courts, whereas it is an offense to represent yourself as a solicitor if you are not a solicitor.
• The difference between an advocate and a solicitor is that advocate is anyone licensed to practice law, whereas the term Solicitor is mainly used in the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, and some parts of the US.
• The difference between an advocate and a solicitor is that an advocate can give legal advice and can represent individuals or entities in legal matters, whereas a Solicitor deals directly with the public or a corporation and can advise legally.

The above mentioned points highlight the difference between an advocate and a solicitor.

How can a lawyer become an advocate?

• A lawyer is someone who has finished legal school but is not authorized to represent clients in court. A lawyer must complete specific standards to become an advocate.
• Assume you’ve completed your bachelor’s degree and are now practicing law. You must take the BCI test, which is conducted by the Bar Council of India, once you have completed your degree. The lawyer must pass this exam to be included in the BAR Council’s list of attorneys. The bar council will then grant you a license to practice law in the Court.
• As a consequence of this procedure, a lawyer becomes an advocate and has the authority to represent his clients in a court of law.

An advocate is denoted by three different words. These are the terms:

• Advocate
• Senior advocate
• Advocate on record

Advocate

A lawyer who is enrolled with the Indian Bar Council and possesses a legal degree is known as an advocate. The bar council has authorized him to represent his client in court.

Senior advocate

A senior advocate is a lawyer who has earned a law degree and is qualified to represent clients in court. A senior advocate may be designated by the Supreme Court or the High Court.

To become a senior advocate, you must meet the following requirements:

• He must be at least 45 years old.
• He must have at least 10 years of experience as an advocate and have appeared in a range of settings.
• The Court may also look at how many cases he has won.

After examining all of these considerations, the Supreme Court or High Court may designate an advocate as a senior advocate. In essence, a senior advocate’s categorization is determined by his or her knowledge and experience. However, the difference between an advocate and a solicitor is that there is no senior solicitor.

Advocate on record (AOR)

According to the Supreme Court of India, only the counsel on record can bring a case before the Supreme Court. Any other lawyer, on the other hand, can draft and argue the case in front of the Supreme Court but not file it.

To become an AOR, an advocate must pass the Supreme Court AOR test. There is no such thing as a solicitor on record, and this highlights the difference between an advocate and a solicitor.

Conclusion

This blog highlights the difference between an advocate and a solicitor. In any legal dispute, legal consultation must be taken by the sufferer by an expert advocate.

A solicitor only does the legal formalities for his client before going to the Court. This is the difference between an advocate and a solicitor. For any legal dispute, an advocate must be consulted.