Q. There Is No Longer Distinction Between the Roles of Solicitor and Barrister. the Two Professions Should Be Emerged. Discuss
Q. There is no longer distinction between the roles of solicitor and barrister. The two professions should be emerged. Discuss
Solicitor and barrister are known to be the two most prestigious branches of law with rich history and independency. These two separate professions have worked side by side in providing justice to the public. The Barristers, referred to bar as skilled advocates where as the solicitors are referred as the legal advisers who offer legal service to clients. Their reputation in the society is noticeable. But, in recent years a debate on whether these two professions should amalgamate or they should retain their independency has gained a lot attention, not only from the legal representatives but also other rich professions. Although some debaters and legal representatives support the idea for the profession to be merged on the basis of academic qualifications, efficiency and time, specialized working (quality) and the cost on legal services, there is some evidence that this fusion may lead to the loss of expertise and its independency.
Supporters of amalgamation claim that under the present system, when things go wide of the mark, it is difficult to allocate fault, as the client blames the solicitor, who then blames the barrister and vice versa whereas, in the merged profession, the liability will only be on one, either a solicitor or a barrister (Glendson, et al., 2002). However, the argument is unconvincing. Despite the fact that some legal debaters have same glide path but the majority encounters the argument (Mitchell & Dhahania, 2003). More important, many legal representatives believe that building this approach of integrating the two prestegious legal profession is on wrong pillars. They believe that specialising as a legal entity in one or the other is difficult enough, but to expect lawyers to be skilled in both will reduce the overall quality of services being offered by the profession (Cohen, 1986). In addition, the advocay,
Solicitor and barrister are known to be the two most prestigious branches of law with rich history and independency. These two separate professions have worked side by side in providing justice to the public. The Barristers, referred to bar as skilled advocates where as the solicitors are referred as the legal advisers who offer legal service to clients. Their reputation in the society is noticeable. But, in recent years a debate on whether these two professions should amalgamate or they should retain their independency has gained a lot attention, not only from the legal representatives but also other rich professions. Although some debaters and legal representatives support the idea for the profession to be merged on the basis of academic qualifications, efficiency and time, specialized working (quality) and the cost on legal services, there is some evidence that this fusion may lead to the loss of expertise and its independency.
Supporters of amalgamation claim that under the present system, when things go wide of the mark, it is difficult to allocate fault, as the client blames the solicitor, who then blames the barrister and vice versa whereas, in the merged profession, the liability will only be on one, either a solicitor or a barrister (Glendson, et al., 2002). However, the argument is unconvincing. Despite the fact that some legal debaters have same glide path but the majority encounters the argument (Mitchell & Dhahania, 2003). More important, many legal representatives believe that building this approach of integrating the two prestegious legal profession is on wrong pillars. They believe that specialising as a legal entity in one or the other is difficult enough, but to expect lawyers to be skilled in both will reduce the overall quality of services being offered by the profession (Cohen, 1986). In addition, the advocay,
References: Cohen, H., (1986). The Divident Legal Profession in England And Wales- Can Barristers and Solicitors Ever be fused. The Law Society`s Gazette, Volume 6, pp. 923-924. Cookson, M., (1868). The Solicitors` Journal and Reporter. Articled Clerks` Society, 13(Lincoln`s- Inn), pp. 35-36. Elliott, C. & Quinn, F., (2008). English Legal System. 9th ed. s.l.:Pearson. FusionDebate, (2008). Sixth Form Law. [Online] Available at: http://sixthformlaw.info/01_modules/mod1/1_4_legal_personnel/1_4_2_barristers_solicitors/15_solicitors_barristers_fusion.htm Gillespie, A., (2007). Advantages of Fusion. In: The English Legal System. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 241-242. Glendson, M. A., W.Gordon, M. & Osakwe, C., (2002). Comparitive Legal Traditions. Saint Paul MN: West Publishing. Harris, P., (2007). The Legal Profession. In: An Introduction to Law. New york: Cambridge University Press, pp. 420-428. Mitchell, A. & Dhahania, M., (2003). AS level Law. 2nd ed. London: Cavendish Publishing Limited. Morrison, A. B. & Zander, M., (1980). Commission Examines English Legal Profession. ABA Bar Association Journal, Volume 66, pp. 568-575. O’Keeffe, V. (2012), “History Of English Legal System”, ELS Lecture 2, BPP University. London, UK Slapper, G SupremeCourt(GeneralCivilProcedure)Rules2005, (2012). Victorian Consolidation Regulations. [Online] Available at: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_reg/sccpr2005433/ Tarr, G., (2010). The Legal Profession in Great Britain. In: Judicial Process and Judicial PolicyMaking. 5th ed. Wadsworth: Pre-PressPMG, p. 95. Wallman, R. & Merricks, W., (1990). The Courts and Legal Service Act- A Solicitor`s Guide. London: The Law Society. Zander, M., (2004). The Law-Making Process. 6th ed. NewYork: Cambridge University Press.