WEBVTT

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So the key differences between a solicitor and

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the barrister are quite easy to explain and

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the way we like to explain it is a little bit of an analogy using a doctor surgery.

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So if you imagine when you're first reading a little bit unwell,

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you would go to your GP, that's different than of the solicitor so they're the first

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point of call that you go to if you have a legal matter or a legal inquiry.

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If your solicitor then decides that your case is too vague, then or

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it might need some support from the courtroom,

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your solicitor would refer you on to a barrister.

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And that's the equivalent of your doctor referring you onto a specialist,

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or referring you onto hospital if they believe that your illness is too big for

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them to maintain or look after.

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The key differences between a solicitor and the barrister is that a solicitor

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generally spends most of their time in an office situation and

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then a barrister will generally spend most of their time in a courtroom situation.

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The barristers are designed to be either prosecution or defense.

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So they will spend their time either defending a client who they believe may

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have been wrongly accused of something or prosecuting, so

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essentially trying to get somebody convicted for a particular matter.

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Solicitors will spend more of their time as I said in the office and

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will assist with case load they will assist with bundles and

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initial interviews of witnesses.

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But the job role of a solicitor very much depends on the type of work that they

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are doing.

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So for instance, if a solicitor is qualified in conveyancing and

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that is the assistance for people buying or selling a property.

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So if you're doing that then you won't be interviewing witnesses.

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You'll spend a lot more of your time dealing with contracts,

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going between different parties to understand what's required.

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However, if you're a sensitive for a large corporate or commercial firm,

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you may spend a lot of your time dealing with big businesses and

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assisting with different multi-million pound deals.

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The actual nature of your day to day role will depend on what type of solicitor you

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are and what type of work you do.

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Whereas the barristers are very much generally based in the courtroom,

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either defense or prosecution.

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You can become what's called a Solicitor Advocate.

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And this means that you have done additional training on top of your

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solicitor training, and that then means that you can go up in court and

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can do some representation of clients.

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You can't do everything that a barrister has the ability to do, but

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you are able to do small amounts of it.