Barrister

barrister: see attorney.

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barrister

One of two types of practicing lawyers in Britain (the other is the solicitor). Barristers engage in advocacy (trial work), and only they may argue cases before a high court. A barrister must be a member of one of the four Inns of Court. In Canada, all lawyers are both barristers and solicitors, though individual lawyers may describe themselves as one or the other. In Scotland trial lawyers are called advocates.

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barrister

1. (in England) a lawyer who has been called to the bar and is qualified to plead in the higher courts

2. (in Canada) a lawyer who pleads in court

3. US a less common word for lawyer

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Barrister 

(from the English “bar”—the barrier separating the court from the defendant), the highest rank for a lawyer in England. In order to receive the title of barrister, it is necessary to have a higher legal education, to attend a three-year training program at one of the lawyers’ associations (Inns of Court), and to pass a comprehensive examination in the law. Only after this can a candidate become a member of an Inn of Court with the title of barrister and obtain the right to act as counsel in all (including the highest) courts. Usually a barrister initiates proceedings only through the intermediary of a solicitor except in those criminal cases that the barrister undertakes himself. The separation of English lawyers into barristers and solicitors, which dates back to the 13—14th centuries, is an anachronism which has been noted even in English juridical literature. The existence of two categories of lawyers and the resulting peculiarities of conducting cases significantly increase the expenses of conducting legal business. The barristers are closely linked to the ruling elite of the English bourgeoisie and play a marked role in the political life of the nation. The attorney general and the judges of the superior courts of law are usually appointed from among the barristers.

M. IU. RAGINSKII