Barristers, Solicitors and Legal Executives Flashcards
How many solicitors are there practising inEngland and Wales?
- Over 130,000
What is the governing body of solicitors, of which every practising solicitor has to be a member?
- The Law Society
By what authority are solicitors regulated?
- Solicitors Regulation Authority
Where can solicitors work? (2)
- In private practices
- Organisations such as the Crown Prosecution Service
What does most solicitor’s work come from? (5)
- Conveyancing
- Drawing up wills
- Drafting contracts
- Writing letters
- Family and matrimonial work
What are the three different ways of becoming a solicitor?
1) Law degree - Legal practice course - Training Contract
2) Degree in another subject - Graduate Diploma in Law - Legal practice course - Training contract
3) 4 GCSEs - ILEX Professional Diploma - ILEX Higher Professional Diploma - Legal Practice Course - Fellow of ILEX or Training Contract
Who is a Graduate Diploma in Law (one year) for?
- Students who don’t have a law degree. If they have a degree in another subject, they spend this year learning the core legal modules
What are the criticisms of the Graduate Diploma in law (one year)? (2)
- Ormrod committee reported in 1971 that one year of legal education was not sufficient and that the main entry into the legal profession should be through a law degree
- It is expensive to undertake this course on top of a degree
What is the legal practice course (one year)?
- Vocational course which teaches the key skills needed to become a solicitor
What does the legal practice course include? (5)
- Client interviewing
- Drafting documents
- Finance
- Marketing
- The running of a solicitor’s firm
What is the criticism of the legal practice course?
- Cost is exceptionally high (around 9,000). Argued to be too expensive for many students
What does a training contract include? (2)
- The student will work in a solicitor’s firm for two years, getting practical experience. The trainee gets paid, although not as much as a solicitor
- The trainee solicitor is also required to attend a 20 day Professional Skills Course where the student builds on the skills learned on the legal practice course
What is the criticism of the training contract?
- There is a huge problem with over supply and many graduates of the legal practice course cannot get a training contract
How many barristers are there practising in England and Wales?
- Nearly 13,000
What is the governing body of barristers?
- General Council of the Bar
All practising barristers must be a memeber of one of the four inns of court. Name them
- Lincoln’s Inn
- Inner Temple
- Middle Temple
- Gray’s Inn
Who regulates barristers?
- The Bar Standards Board
Barristers are considered advocacy specialists, and work under the cab rank rule. What does this mean?
- A barrister cannot turn down a case with their specialism
Barristers have rights of audience in all criminal courts, subject to accreditation under what?
- The Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates
What are the three routes of barrister training?
1) Law degree - Membership of an Inn of Court - Bar professional training course - Call to the bar - Pupillage 2 x 6 months
2) Degree in another subject - Graduate Diploma in Law - Membership of an Inn of Court - Bar professional training course - Call to the bar - Pupillage 2 x 6 months
3) Non-graduate mature student - Graduate Diploma in Law - Bar professional training course - Call to the bar - Pupillage 2 x 6 months
What is the purpose of the compulsory Membership of an Inn of Court?
- Gives students the opportunity to meet senior barristers and judges and immerse themselves in the traditions of the profession
What are the ethnicity statistics for solicitors?
- White - 71%
- BAME - 23 %
What are the ethnicity statistics for barristers?
- White - 79%
- BAME - 11%
What is the Diversity Access Scheme?
- A scheme by the law society that supports people from low socio-economic backgrounds who wat to become solicitors
What are solicitors regulated by?
- The Solicitors Regulation Authority
What is the purpose of the Solicitors Regulation Authority? (3)
- Ensuring solicitors meet high standards
- Acting where risks are identified
- To ensure that solicitors adhere to the principles set out in the Authority’s code of conduct
Who regulates barristers?
- The Bar Standards Board
What is the Bar Standards Board responsible for? (4)
- Setting the education and training requirements for becoming a barrister
- Setting continuing training requirements to ensure that barristers’ skills are maintained
- Setting standards of conduct for barristers
- Handling complaints against barristers and the organisations they authorise, and taking disciplinary or other action where appropriate
The UK is one of the few legal systems that operate separate legal professions. What are the arguments for fusion? (4)
- Reduced costs, as only one lawyer would be needed instead of a solicitor and a barrister
- More efficient, as only one person would be doing the work resulting in less duplication
- More continuity as the same person deals with the case from start to finish
- We are one of the only legal systems that operates a divided legal profession
What are the arguments against fusion? (4)
- Possible decline in the area of specialism, especially in relation to advocacy
- Loss of the Independent Bar
- A barrister currently provides a second opinion; fusion would lead to a loss of objectivity
- Cab Rank rule would also be lost - could this result in people being left without representation?
