Legal Profession In England

Legal Profession In England



Legal Profession In England

Introduction

The legal profession is a very competitive profession to get into (see previous sections) for all applicants. Mature graduates and career changers have successfully entered the profession, perhaps building on skills from their earlier career (e.g. a former civil engineer moving into construction law or someone from a related profession such as the police or probation service changing direction). You need to research the profession thoroughly and make sure you sell your relevant skills and experiences from your earlier career. Bear in mind though, that investment of your time and money in legal training does not guarantee a training opportunity at the end of it.

Analysis

The provision of legal services is big business. The government spends nearly a billion pounds a year to pay for legal aid. The turnover of firms of solicitors in England and Wales is in excess of 6 billion [pounds] a year, and thus accounts for more than 1 per cent of national income, and to this must be added the turnover of barristers' chambers. In addition to this explicit market many organizations employ their own lawyers to provide in-house legal services (Williamson, 1989).

However, the legal profession is considerably smaller (in terms of lawyers per head of population) in the UK than in some other countries, particularly the US. The work done by lawyers is, of course, sensitive to the constitutional and administrative structure of countries, and tasks done by a lawyer in one country may be done by non-lawyers elsewhere. There is thus no universal definition of legal services. We are dealing with services which by custom and practice, by government decree, or whatever, are carried out by lawyers (Tirole, 1988).

The United Kingdom is made up of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Though the legal system of England and Wales is one and the same, the legal systems of Scotland and Northern Ireland are separate and distinct. The have their own laws and judiciaries. Being called to the bar from one of the Inn's of Court in London is to be a barrister of England and Wales. Most commonwealth countries (former countries of the British Empire that maintain ties to the Crown of the UK) have virtually the same legal systems as England and Wales. They send aspiring barristers to Inns of Court in London, making them members of the bar in their home countries. The later a commonwealth country became independent, the closer its legal system and laws will mirror England and Wales (Stephen et al. 1993).

There are two types of lawyers in the UK (Scotland and N. Ireland are the same in this regard, as are the commonwealth countries). The first type of lawyer, making up 90% (about 90,000) of the judiciary, is the solicitor. These lawyers are not called to the bar, and can only argue cases in from of lower types of courts. They can join firms and solicit business. They prepare they cases for Barristers to argue, ...