A lesson on the courtroom Court rooms were made up of three
sections. The first section was reserved for the legal bench where
the judge sat. The third section was reserved for the common folk
who came to observe the proceedings. In the middle section was where
people with familiarity of the law could stand. They would be separate
from the commoners and could address the judge. These three sections
were separated by two rails, known as "bars" from which we get the
terminology of a barrister or that a lawyer is called to the bar
For most people, the subtle differences in names of those in the
legal profession do not matter, but is important to note that a
barrister was originally not an attorney, although many people will
refer to them as that today.
And the other guys ?
Aside from barristers, historically the other legal professional
was a solicitor. The solicitor is the one who was an attorney. Barristers
could represent a client in court but attorneys could appear in
the place of a client.
Add to that the words "lawyer," "counsel,"
and "legal adviser," and you get a mishmash of terms that
has come to mean a legal professional.
If you find yourself in legal trouble or are involved in a lawsuit,
you'll probably not care where the term attorney came from. However,
it is interesting to note the roots of our system that stemmed from
tradition.
You will probably find lawyers, barristers, solicitors, and attorneys
in the yellow pages all under the term "lawyer."
It's not surprising that such confusing titles and jargon comes
out of the legal system!!!
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