07,Feb 2024
Lawyers and advocates both play important roles within the judicial system. Both of them have comprehensive knowledge of laws, rules, and regulations and are well-trained in examining complex legal issues. Still, there is a big difference between these professionals. The distinctness between lawyer and advocatelies in the roles they play within the judiciary. The lawyers provide expert legal advice while the advocates majorly represent the clients in court.
The difference between the both does not lie only in the role they play in a legal system. Instead, it also lies in the experience, practicing, representation in the court, etc. Here in this blog to give you a better understanding of them we have explained to you in detail, What is the difference between a lawyer and an advocate?”
Difference between Lawyer & Advocate
1.Difference based on the Definition
However, both the terms, i.e. Lawyer” and Advocate” sound quite similar to common people and are often interchangeably used. Still, there is a big difference between the two that needs to be emphasized when talking in legal terms, and the foremost difference is based on the definition only.
A lawyer is a legal person who has obtained a degree in law either LLB or an integrated law degree. The term lawyer” is used to designate anyone in the legal profession including a solicitor, barrister, and attorney. An advocate is a person who specializes in representing clients in legal proceedings.
2.Difference Based on Responsibilities:
The responsibilities of lawyers include the following:
- Attend trials and hearings
- Collaborate with police and investigators
- Review a case and provide legal opinion to clients
- Schedule interviews, assessments, and meetings with their clients and witnesses related to the case
- Conduct research and gather evidence supporting their client
- Advise clients on their constitutional rights in their legal matters
The responsibilities of advocates are as follows:
- Assist the police and investigator to present themselves well-prepared in the proceedings
- Notify authorities of complaints against court officials
- Conduct necessary legal research concerning the case
- Observe court etiquette and proper conduct
- Provide the required evidence to the court to reach a conclusion in a legal matter.
3.Scope of practice:
Lawyers can provide legal advice to persons seeking their help and even organizations like companies, colleges, or universities. Apart from giving advice they also draft the documents required in the legal process but cannot practice in a court of law.
An advocate specializes in advocating and representing his clients. If lawyers want to practice in a court they can also do the same provided they are enrolled with a state bar council. After registering yourself, you need to pass the All India Bar Exam as well to represent the clients and defend them in court.
4.Courtroom Representation:
Lawyers can not represent clients in court as they have just graduated from law school with no experience at all. And in order to represent their clients they need to acquire the necessary experience.
Advocates are those who have qualified for the Bar Council Exam. Qualifying for the exam followed by enrollment in a state bar council makes them eligible to practice in any court of law as they own a vast array of knowledge, experience, and skill in legal matters.
5.Experience:
Since lawyers are those legal professionals who are just graduated from law school hence they do not have the necessary experience. Though they have knowledge of the law, including statutes, rules and regulations, and legal precedents. But when it comes to experience that for how many years the lawyer has practiced in a court, then it turns out to be zero.
Advocates are more experienced as they have practiced in a variety of judicial settings throughout their careers. They have a wide range of knowledge, experience, and required skills as they have been involved in representing their clients and turning the results in their favor. Their clients can be a person or an entity like a company, a bank, an organization, etc.
6.Expertise:
One of the key differences between advocates and lawyers lies in the area of expertise they own. While advocates typically specialize in specific areas like criminal law, corporate law, etc. Lawyers, on the other hand, have a general knowledge of the legal proceedings and may not specialize in any particular area.
7.Legal System Variations:
Depending on the legal system of a country, both the terms can mean differently to people. For India, advocate refers to a specific category of lawyer who focuses on the representation of his client.
8.Professional Titles:
Advocate” is used as an official title for those legal professionals who are qualified to represent clients in a court of law. The term Lawyer” is used to refer to all legal professionals ranging from law graduates to attorneys.
9.Fees/ Charges:
Advocates being more skilled and experienced charge higher than lawyers to represent their clients in a wide variety of legal matters. While lawyers charge low fees from the clients since they do not have the necessary experience required to litigate in court.
10. Salary:
Being an advocate they get an additional qualification in comparison to lawyers. As they are able to represent their clients and defend them as the case maybe their scope of earnings is greater than a lawyer. The salary of a lawyer in India ranges between Rs. 1-11 Lakhs per annum while the salary of an advocate in India ranges between Rs. 1.1 -9 Lakhs per annum.
Who is a Lawyer?
A lawyer is someone who has obtained a law degree. There are different types of lawyers, like advocates, attorneys, solicitors, etc. Law graduates working in the corporate sector are not allowed to defend their clients in court therefore they cannot be referred to as advocates.
Who is an Advocate?
An advocate is authorized to represent their clients in different matters in the court.They work with the aim of defending and representing their clients and achieving a favorable outcome depending on the nature of the case.
How can a Lawyer become an Advocate?
Lawyers can also become advocates just by following the prescribed format required to do so. A lawyer is required to pass the Bar Council of India exam, often known as the BCI examination after earning a legal degree. Following this you will be required to register yourself with a state bar council and after getting the license you will be allowed to practice law in a courtroom and hence you will become an advocate.
Detailed Procedure to become an advocate is given below:
- Educational Qualification: The journey of a student becoming a lawyer begins after passing class XII itself. After passing the board examinations the candidates need to search for a good law college and start preparing for the law entrance examinations. To get admission you can appear for examinations like CLAT or AILET. And get a Bachelor’s degree in law from a recognized university. The degree may be a simple law graduation degree i.e. LLB or an integrated one like B.Com LLB, B.Sc LLB. BA LLB, etc. During graduation, the candidates can opt for the specialization from a wide range of options including corporate law, criminal law, taxation law, etc.
- Bar Council Exam:After completing your degree LLB or the integrated one, the candidate needs to clear the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) conducted every year by the Bar Council of India. Followed by submitting all the necessary documents and paying the required fees.
- Register with State Bar Council:Now the next step is to register/enroll with the Bar Council of a state where you intend to practice. Doing so will get you a Certificate of Practice” through which you will be approved to practice in any court of the state you registered with.
- Optional Specialization:To get more skills and have an upper hand in the world of practice. The lawyers can also pursue a Master’s degree (LL.M.) to get specialization in a particular domain.
- Training:After graduating you need to get the training by working as an intern or associate with lawyers or law firms. This step is mandatory as getting the bookish knowledge will not be enough for you and you anyhow need to know what the actual work is like.
- Practice:After completion of all the above-mentioned steps, you can start practicing independently or with a law firm. Practicing will help you gain practical experience by providing legal expert advice, drafting documents, and handling non-litigation matters.
References:
- https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/difference-between-lawyer-and-advocate/
- https://in.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/lawyer-vs-advocate
- https://cleartax.in/s/differences-between-lawyers-and-advocates
- https://www.upgrad.com/blog/lawyer-vs-advocate/
- https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/what-is-the-difference-between-advocate-and-lawyer-1673935707-1