英美法律制度 bench and bar.pptVIP

CHAPTER IV The Legal Profession 4.1 The bar Legal profession mainly comprises of attorneys, judges, procurators and scholars of law. Lawyers’ functions: advice and advocacy. Two functions of the lawyer Counselling: an informal, often personal, function. The lawyer drafts a will, assists in buying a house, starting a small business, or forming a large corporation. Advocacy: a formal function by which the lawyer represents and speaks for the client—usually before a court or administrative body. The English tradition: Keeping the division of advocacy and counseling has always been a tradition in England. Barristers: Barristers have the sole right to appear in the higher courts—Crown courts, High Court, Court of Appeal, and House of Lords. Barristers do not deal directly with lay clients, but only with solicitors. Solicitors: Solicitors perform the counselling function and may appear in lesser courts. Modem English barristers are divided into two types: Seniors: The seniors are called Queen’s Counsel (QC) or, if a male is on the throne, King’s Counsel (KC). They also, because of their gown material, are called “silks.” They constitute about ten percent of the bar. Judges of the higher courts are selected only from QCs. Juniors: Juniors assist QCs in preliminary work, receive roughly two-thirds of the fee. However, the juniors’ portions generally exceed what they would earn if they took the case on their own because QCs charge significantly higher fees than juniors. Solicitors Solicitors perform the counselling function and may appear in lesser courts. When a solicitor’s case must be heard in a higher court the solicitor engages a barrister. Because the bulk of legal work is counselling, there are many more solicitors than barristers. Now there are about 60,000 solicitors and 10,000 barristers. Fees in the U.K. The English barrister’s fee is paid by the solicitor. Barristers are not permitted to sue solicitors for their fees, and uncollected fees are a problem