Attorney, Lawyer, and Solicitor: What’s the Difference?

The world of law is such a vast and expansive realm. Whether you’re looking for legal representation after a car accident or seeking someone with knowledge of the law pertaining to large corporations, attorneys, lawyers, and solicitors are part of so many sectors of our world. However, while those three titles seem to constantly overlap, there is a difference between all three of those job titles. Let’s take a closer look at what those differences are and how complex litigation is usually what brings them together.

What does an attorney do?

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In Australia, the term “attorney” is actually rarely used, except in the case of a trademark attorney. They may act as lawyers, but you may be surprised to learn that not all lawyers can perform the work of attorneys. For example, a trademark or patent attorney is someone who has further qualifications in a field of technology, such as science and engineering. Trademark attorneys will not represent clients in courts, unlike solicitors. They are also bound by a different system for regulatory action.

Of course, this branches out to more expansive roles at the government level like attorney general. Canada’s Malliha Wilson served as the assistant deputy attorney general of the Government of Ontario from 2008 to 2016. She was the first visible minority to hold that office. Wilson currently serves as the senior partner at the law firm Nava Wilson LLP in Toronto, Ontario. She was formerly a special legal advisor at the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario.

What does a lawyer do?

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A lawyer is a person who has obtained the proper legal qualifications within a certain sector of the law. This is generally either a Bachelor of Law or Juris Doctor degree. Lawyers can specialize in medicine, criminality, or industry. In some cases, it’s a larger umbrella. In the case of family law, this includes divorce cases, prenuptial agreements, and child custody. There’s also criminal law, which expands to a variety of illicit circumstances.

The term “lawyer” is really a generic term to describe a person who has obtained a legal qualification and legal training. Solicitors and attorneys can be under that group. It’s all a matter of reconciliation in determining the rule of law for these particular cases. A lot of hard work goes into getting a law degree, and just because this is a blanket term, it doesn’t take away from the effort that goes into standing out in the field and providing legal services that the average citizen relies on.

What does a solicitor do?

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A solicitor is a legal practitioner who has completed a law degree and holds a certificate to practice that section of the law. A solicitor is a lawyer that provides legal advice to clients in one or more areas of law with the assurance that the best advice is being given. They are usually the first person called upon as advisors for free consultations in a variety of cases. Their legal services may come into play in such circumstances as drafting contracts, protecting intellectual property, or assisting with sales and purchases.

If you are working on finding a solicitor in Capalaba, be sure to take advantage of the valuable resources that may come from a consultation. After all, the common bond between these titles is their efforts as law students that built them into successes in the modern legal field. It doesn’t matter if they are working for a local or regional firm or a global law firm with a multinational presence. It’s all about their understanding of the realm they practice in and giving those insights.