It's like the difference between actors a stage hands. Law is a pantomime and the court is a stage.

From watching “Midsomer Murders” it seems that a Solicitor’s job is the sit quietly and make faces while the police question you. While a Barrister will explain a situation thoroughly, completely , logically and to sufficient depth to convince one of the truth, despite what the facts may be.

I met a barrister once, and I asked him how he became a barrister. He said all he did was to attend 3 Bar Council dinners, know when to use the right fork, and he was in…

Here on Ireland a barrister is always instructed by a solicitor. Solicitors usually act in the District (magistrates) Court and barristers act in the Circuit (crown) and higher courts. I find all your discussions on law very interesting and clear even though we are in a different jurisdiction- Happy New Year !

Win, lose or draw, the barrister, the solicitor and the judge all bugger off to the golf course afterward leaving the poor claimant to pick up the bill for the lot of them, I know, it's happened to me. My barrister was not interested and generally useless, I did most of his work for him during the trial, handing him the right documents, photographs etc. The BBB at least, is giving something back so thank you for that.

Understanding the basics of law, the legal system and rights including major changes to laws, rights and the legal system should be part of a free life skills course for everyone.

How things have changed. Although I am retired now I was speaking to a Senior Barrister clerk recently who informed me that his job was now all about dealing with the direct access matters. He could not remember the last time he went to the High Court.

In the poll I ticked the "I know..." box. It appears that my statement was only broadly correct, the reality being more complex than I had realised. Thanks for clearing that up!

What a hallucinating dog's breakfast of a situation! At the risk of disputing any of your insightful explanations, I've also heard the near-opposite: that barristers are the ones with the licence to engage in litigation, while solicitors typically offer advice to clients and draft documents such as wills and contracts (think office v courtroom work). Still, even this convenient distinction has become eroded by the described overlapping roles on both sides. I've even heard it remarked that if all solicitors did their job well enough, they'd put all barristers out of business overnight because there'd be nothing to litigate. Why not simply bury the mind-bending confusion deep in its ancient history? (Apparently, it's the product of the English class system which restricted the lower classes to the role of "soliciting" for clients, while the better-bred peers did the lawyering, but I digress.) The Canadians, who very sensibly grant both licences to all lawyers, simultaneously attempt to maintain the distinction in an even more puzzling way: by dividing the various subjects in their "Bar Exams" into two arbitrary categories. So, aspects of public law (e.g., Criminal Law & Procedure and Administrative Law) are in the Barrister curriculum, while the private-law ones (e.g., Real Estate, Wills & Estates, Corporate/Commercial) are in the Solicitor materials - as if barristers only practise public law and solicitors, private. (Or perhaps it's because the poor Canucks are never able to make up their minds about these matters: they've abolished the wigs and the rank of QC but still require "gowning" in Superior and higher courts.) I'm no great fan of the Americans in many other respects, but I think they've saved themselves a lot of unnecessary confusion by having one single profession - where everyone dresses in a humble business suit.

Another absolutely absolutely absolutely fantastic video. More of these videos PLEASE.

You are exceedingly well qualified, even as a barrister! Many thanks for this very useful breakdown of legal roles, and a very happy and, indeed, successful 2022 to you and your colleagues!

I'm a solicitor and run a law firm. Your explanation, accurate enough though it is, simply serves to prove it's a compete dog's breakfast. Solicitors and Barristers ought to have merged to become a united profession years ago, as is the case in all other common law countries, as far as I am aware - so why not here? Yet instead a formal merger, what we have is a slow merger by stealth; barristers forming firms offering direct access, solicitor advocates conducting advocacy, and so on. My firm, Bargate Murray, can even be regulated by the Bar Council, instead of our regulator, the SRA. If confusion as to roles is rife amongst the public, and reason enough to consider merger, a better reason is to reduce the wasted and duplicated costs that the public have to pay.

Interesting: it would appear, from this explanation, that the Isle of Man’s legal firms are run by ‘Solicitor Advocates’ : more commonly referred to as simply: “Advocates”, which I dare say, is not only ‘convenient’ it sounds more, shall we say, grand. My hearsay understanding is Advocates act very like ‘direct access Barristers’ and can both litigate and represent their client in court. However, for major crimes like murder, grand theft and those crimes deemed as terrorist based, it is common practise to call in a Barrister from the UK….(open to verification….)

Thanks for the explanation, most informative as ever. It would be useful if you could explain what the costs are? (in general terms, eg solicitor, barrister, QC & Court fees.) There are lots of negative comments coming in about the cost of being represented, some no doubt from experience but others passing on 2nd-6th hand information. Have a very happy new year and look forward to the 1st live chat when you restart them.

Thanks for the explanation, I hope I never have to avail of the services of any solicitor or Barrister. I wish you and yours a happy, health and prosperous new year.

I was always told that a solicitor's aim is to take your money, and a barrister's aim is to make you cry

Thanks for this. I am currently reading "The Secret Barrister" One of the points raised is that most people dont really know how the legal system works. The author gives the example that we all know the difference between a doctor and a surgeon, but would struggle to know how the legal system works. I was going to ask if you could make this video but you have already done it so thanks again.

Wow, what a bloody good explaination! I have always wondered that question. Just to add, I think that you are the most articulate person on youtube, and that is refreshing. Well played mate, well played!

This is easy. One is an unnecessary expense that thinks they are important. The other is a barrister.

Thanks BBB, for explaining the difference between litigation and representing the client's case. Q. Would you explain the rôle, capacity and competence of Alternate Dispute Resolution Providers, and ADR in general. It seems to me that some cowboys offer a similar service without being qualified or registered in accordance with the ADRP Act.

Very well explained. In litigation involving Civil Service actions, As a solicitor, I was always if necessary to brief a Barrister for court appearances, however, may be called by either prosecuting or defendant Barristers to clarify some issues.

What I deduce is that a solicitor is like a office. Assistant and does the filing and application to a court on behalf of a client . Whereas the barrister represents a client in a court.

I’m still a little confused. Is there any particular situation where I would need one instead of the other? I feel like I’d always go to a solicitor and let him work it out.

Hi just wondering if u could explain about no win no fee Solicitors as many people use them as I am at the moment for a tribunal but I didnt know at the time they could also charge u for stuff and ask for payments. I know people should research but like myself I'm well out of my depth 😒 thanks. Happy New Year hope u and ur family have a good 1.

Fascinating I had a very good judo friend who was a solicitor he was in building real estate witch is generally non combative so knowing this I should of worked it out cool video!!!

I am old enough to remember when solicitors litigated and prosecuted or defended in Magistrates and County courts, and Barristers generally handled everything above that. However we now have Solicitors that have become judges in Crown Courts though I don't know if there is a direct road to that or whether they have to become Barristers to become judges. In family courts that handle things like divorce, child protection, etc you appear to be able to have both Barristers and Solicitors able to represent clients. However I don't know whether that changes depending on the type of case going through those Family Courts. It's interesting that there are Republic of Ireland Barristers that have chambers as well in the UK. The law is very similar so I assume that it is easy to study for both. I don't know if there is a parallel with some other countries, such as Australia, New Zealand, etc.

Our clinical negligence barrister was a fatalistic competent beast and changed our lives for the better. The only reason why I had a idea what the difference is Have great new year BBB 😄

Could you please consider doing a video on how to prepare a case for the Public Access Scheme? Including how to find statutes and caselaw for the case for those of us who are the general public and follow your videos. Thank you so much

I thought I had half a clue as to the differences, but I was wrong, so thanks for enlightening us.

Blackbelt B happy new year to you and your family...

I have the greatest respect for Barristers and your explanations of the law are brilliant Daniel. What puzzles me is this; if some Barristers and some Solicitors can carry out the same duties, and some specialise in a particular subject, what is the incentive to use a Barrister?

I am now (slightly) less confused than before ;) That said, if I ever needed a solicitor/barrister, I would come to your firm as you guys can do the lot! ;)

Not sure if I understood correctly, but: 1. Both barrister and solicitor can represent you in court? 2. Solicitor will do all the steps on your claim (and you pay for the full package) while a barrister will typically allow you to do some of the legwork and generally be more involved in the case, and it's your choice if you'll opt for the full service, minimal service or something in between?

Talk about 'released under investigation' plz. . .someone i know has paper work saying it should come to a conclusion July 2020 and still not heard anything.

Great summary. Thanks.

if at some point the MoJ chooses to merge solicitors and barristers into one thing would this be a good or bad thing?

Happy new year. Thanks for your advice. 100,000 coming Rock on.

Can you also do a difference between a solicitor and a lawyer please

And for which one would you sooner have to sell your house to pay for a few weeks of their services?

Happy New year 🎉 !

A barrister is someone who makes COFFEE, solicitors don't!! :)

Always good to listen to the black belt, all the best to you and all. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

So what the different between a chambers vs firm ?

fuse the legal profession as obtains in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, a number of commonwealth counties, USA and Canada in common law provinces

Thank you👍

So am I right in thinking a barrister can presumably do litigation work on their own case (own behalf) if they wanted to, but not for a cilent or family member etc? Can a barrister send a "solicitors letter" pre-litigation proceedings?

I think the most important take-home message from this video comes not from watching it but from watching several of your others. They were clean, neat, tidy and precise. This was a confused and almost incomprehensible mess, which given your demonstrated ability to describe things clearly and concisely suggests the solicitor/barrister thing is an absolute dog's breakfast. I suspect from your description and a few of the comments that this is down to cultural and historical traditions, probably dating back several hundred to a thousand years. The situation is not helped unfortunately by many legal professionals doing things in the most complex an convoluted manner possible, almost as if they are justifying their existence (and fees). Key recent example: new SOP added to my job role (QC in pharma) on data integrity, security and confidentiality. The SOP in question was written by one of the company's legal councils and you could immediately tell it had been written by a legal-eagle. 22 pages of extra wordy text with frequent repetitions- it read like a policy document about a statutory regulated field rather than an SOP. SOPs need to be short, memorable and punchy describing the bare bones step by step then referencing any supporting documentation. Though to be fair the entire company is poor in that respect...

A more useful question to answer is "what's the difference between a solicitor-advocate and a direct access barrister who is authorised to conduct litigation?" They seem to be almost identical.

Just out of curiosity what other countries with common law have barristers and solicitors. Many countries have just lawyers including many commonwealth countries although Canada may be slightly different as it has both common law and civil law.

Hi BBB from what i remember the differeance is about 500 pound an hour

The things most people are likely to see solicitors for are house conveyancing and writing wills/ dealing with probate. Do barristers dabble in these areas, or is that stuff exclusively the domain of solicitors?

Is this different in Scotland? I understand that one can only instruct a QC through a solicitor.

Now we know the differences between a solicitor and a Barrister. I know from personal experience who i would prefer to represent me in court. Solicitors are fine with litigation, but if you are in serious trouble then a Barrister would be the better option to represent you in court. Thanks for this video Dan, and i now know where to come for an excellent Barrister. Have a Great New Year.🙂

Am I allowed to sue someone without using a solicitor or barrister.

I did ask this bbb on one of your live filmings about a month or so ago

Happy New Year 2022 🎄🎉 BBB.

Very insightful

As always with British law, nice and complicated, divide and rule!

And don't forget when considering your legal needs, a Barrister can also make you a nice coffee ...

Great video 👌🤩

A solicitor works in court a barrister works at Costa.

Law teaches you one thing is to take two identical situations and argue they are different.

So how do you become a QC or Judge?

Billy said "Kill all the lawyers" which does not include barristers or baristas! HAPPY NEW YEAR

As I said about £120 an hour

So what is a Queens Counsul. ?

Whats the difference between a barrister and a QC?

All I have been told is that if you are in big trouble a barrister will get a far better outcome for you than a solicitor, a barrister is certainly more expensive than a solicitor but what price is too high for justice ? I've never been in trouble but if I was I wouldn't hesitate to have a barrister take care of the whole situation.

So are there specialist judges?

Once again, brilliant explanation 👍👍🎅

Isn't the real money for the Barristers clerk? Don't they get a % of the Barristers fee? or has that changed.

Barrister or solicitor all they care abut money solicitor just charged me £1200 for submitting child arrangements order only and now he is saying I av to pay £3000 for barristor, am simple person earn £1400 a month after tax 1000 goes to rent bills food and I av only £400 left it will take me 12months to save that money

But what does a Queens Council do?

Can you do a video on how normal people can afford a barrister? We don't all have tens of thousands of pounds in the bank.

Brief, no pun intended

Can you do videos about your multimillion businesses. 🙏🏻 sounds more interesting than law…

One of 'em make coffee, innit? Cappuccino, extra shot!

If I wanted to kick my barrister in the bollox on receipt of his bill how would I find out what belt he has in martial arts or should I have someone on stand by with a video camera filming his reaction then pop down to my local Dojo to ask the sensai his opinion ? Just curious !

Solicitors and Barristers work together as part of the legal system to make sure the law is much more complicated than it needs to be so they can make more money regardless of whether they are any good or not! The adversarial system was developed when people thought the Earth was flat and yet we still put up with it. I always think that one sign a country is on the slide is when its brightest young people would prefer to study law than science or engineering !

How do I get your services , kind of need help

Main difference, about £200 an hour

I have no idea what any of that meant if I am honest!

It is my understanding that solicitors do law stuff and barristers make coffee?

Neither thanks God's the only Judge I recognise

Like I have always said solicitor’s and Barrister’s and their respective professional associations are there to make the legal profession a licence to print money. Keep the profession full of mystery and fool the public. The associations primary function is to protect the profession before the public. But I concede that a man representing himself in court is represented by a fool. We do need these money grabbing lawyers. But the profession should be stream lined to remove the distinction between solicitors and barristers. It isn’t as if the solicitor does the foot work then passes his product to the barrister to proceed at court. When one could easily function without the other. Any contra view by the legal profession is just prevarication by them to protect their interests. BBB himself has stated that training can be given. Why isn’t the training standardised?

Nice alternative to the solicitor-bashing and snobbery that is common in a lot of videos. I see plenty of this in the comments below but oh well...

I'm glad that I don't know the meaning of half those words

Abandon Ship!

"A *brief* comparison" - intentional or not 😁

If you have to ask the price you can’t afford one Barrister big bucks just ask Tommy What’s his name

The system breaks when a barrister instructs a barrister.

In my experience A barrista is preferable to a solicitor...

*As Judge Rinder says, if you can read, you can go to court* 😜

Great advert

What's the highest court a solicitor can represent you in? I assume they are not allowed to strut their stuff in the Supreme Court? 🤔

Here in Scotland there are no Barristers 😀

Oh Mr Blackbelt What I find at present, most if not all Barristers & Solicitors commit criminal offences daily, in fact I always say if you are looking for the criminal element within the UK you need only look as far as your industry. Let me point out the structure you have : Paul Philips CEO of SRA former CEO of GMC who repeatedly obstructed investigation against Doctors for allegation of sexual assault Derek Sweeting your chair of the bar, would rather commit offences, would rather pervert the course of justice than investigate any barrister In fact it is rife within your industry, it seems you would rather attack vulnerable people " by effect" than rightly defend them My better understanding of the law industry since I've had to engage defending vulnerable people on a charitable basis , non of you are fit to undertake your " public function" Have you ever discussed openly your mandatory obligations in your tertiary capacity under Public Function and how daily you will abuse such positions I would say you are no more a barrister than I being a rocket scientist lol

'Brief comparison' 😉

do you do civil harassment claims

They are all in the same alphabet soup,it’s money money money over justice