what is the difference between a solicitor and a barrister? Forum

[sayers]

If I want to practice international, human or civil rights law should I train to be a solicitor or a barrister? Can I practice all in the USA after earning a law degree in the UK? If so what are the requirements to practice law in the USA?

[rinkrat19]

We don't have solicitors and barristers, so we're unlikely to know the difference.

I found this: http://www.mmu.ac.uk/careers/students-a ... nation.pdf

And this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admission_ ... ed_lawyers

[tvt86]

If I want to practice international, human or civil rights law should I train to be a solicitor or a barrister? Can I practice all in the USA after earning a law degree in the UK? If so what are the requirements to practice law in the USA?

In broad terms, solicitor deals with the client and does most of the work up until the case goes to trial. Solicitors can get some rights to appear in court, but not in front of the higher courts. Barristers take on the cases in court. Becoming a barrister is extremely tough. Even when you become one, there's no job security initially and the pay is terrible. You can do international, human rights or civil rights law as either a solicitor or a barrister.

You can practice in the USA after earning a UK law degree, but it's a huge pain. This document gives you the state-by-state requirements for being allowed to sit for the bar after being qualified in a foreign country. --LinkRemoved-- (Page 26 of the PDF). In short, you can sit for the New York Bar with a foreign degree from a common law country. For other states, you need a certain amount of experience, or an LLM. And some states don't allow foreign qualifications at all. Even if your degree is accepted in the state you want to practice in, there's no guarantee that employers will see it as equivalent to a JD.

It's much easier to go to law school in the US and then, if necessary, transfer to the UK by taking the Qualified Lawyers' Transfer Test.