Solicitor General of England and Wales

“ An address recently delivered before the Birmingham Law Students’ Society by Sir Edward Clarke, English Solicitor-General, [4] has given renewed vitality to the movement in England to break down the distinction between barristers and solicitors, and make the legal profession into “one body, each member of which should be entitled to do any part of the work of the profession.” The change is advocated as of benefit to the public, to barristers, and to solicitors. ”

“ In Scotland solicitors in the Supreme Court are not, as in England, the only persons entitled to act as law agents. They share the privilege with writers to the signet in the Supreme Court, with agents at law and procurators in the inferior courts. ”

“ R. 44.—The Attorney and Solicitor General only to draw fiants.—The Attorney and Solicitor-General of Ireland being always of the King's own choice and special nomination, and on whom above any other of his learned counsel, or officers of any of his courts he did, there, as well as in England, repose a more special trust, and impose a more special charge for the preservation of his revenues, possessions and tenures, and at whose hands he did chiefly expect a good account concerning the same ”

“ Item, That Recoveries and Fines of Record, and Warrants of Attorney for the same, shall and may be taken before every of the said Justices, of Lands, Tenements and Hereditaments within his Authority, by Force of his general Commission, without any Writ of Dedimus potestatem to be sued for the same, in like Manner and Form as is used to be taken before the King's Chief Justice of his Common Place in England. ”

“ Besides the Attorney and Solicitor-General, there were ten counsel employed for the Crown, and there was an equal number on the side of the traversers, including Mr. Sheil, Mr. Hatchel, Mr. Moore, Mr. Whiteside, Mr. Monaghan, afterwards Chief Justice, Mr. O'Hagan, and Mr. Macdonogh. This monster trial was remarkable in many respects. It excited great public interest, which pervaded all classes, from the highest to the lowest. It lasted from the 16th of January to the 12th of February; the speech of the Attorney-General occupied two days ”

“ Civil servants, ministers and, in particular, the Lord Chancellor are under a duty to uphold the continued independence of the judiciary, and must not seek to influence particular judicial decisions. The Lord Chief Justice is the head of the judiciary in England and Wales. The Lord President of the Court of Session and the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland are the heads of the judiciary in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively. The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for all civil cases in the UK and for all criminal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. ”

“ Already solicitors possess the right of audience in the county courts, the limit of whose jurisdiction is constantly being increased, with the result of developing a species of solicitor-advocate, whose functions are very similar to those of the barrister. The more this progresses, the greater will be the number of solicitors who will become known as court practitioners, and whose services will be sought by the public and even by other solicitors, providing an existing act forbidding the latter is repealed. ”

“ LINE WHICH SEPARATES THEM FROM THE BAR—SOLICITOR A BUSINESS MAN—FAMILY SOLICITORS—GREAT CITY FIRMS OF SOLICITORS—THE NUMBER OF SOLICITORS IN ENGLAND AND WALES—TENDENCY TOWARD ABOLISHING THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN BARRISTER AND SOLICITOR—SOLICITORS WEAR NO DISTINCTIVE DRESS EXCEPT IN COUNTY COURTS—SOLICITORS' BAGS.
The line which separates solicitors from the Bar—the barristers—is difficult for an American to fully appreciate, for in our country it does not exist. ”

“ The division of the profession between the solicitors and the Bar is no doubt a survival in modern, or socialistic, England of aristocratic conditions which it is the tendency of the times to weaken, if not eventually to abolish. It is somewhat hard upon the solicitor of real ability [53] to be confined to a limited field and to feel that, no matter how great his powers and acquirements, it is impossible to rise to the best position in his profession without abandoning his branch and beginning all over again in the barrister's ranks. ”

“ The administration of justice in courts of law is not left entirely to the justices and judges. Parties may not always have sufficient confidence in the ability, honesty, and impartiality of the justice by whom a suit is to be tried, to intrust their interests to his judgment. Therefore the constitutions of all the states guaranty to every person the right of trial by a jury. This right has been enjoyed in England many centuries. ”

“ A. A Barrister is forced to do his best for his client, but a Solicitor is not. As a rule the Solicitor deputes to his Chief Clerk if he has one, or somebody in the office if he has not, the duties of conducting a suit through Chambers. ”

“ All barristers of the English Inns of Court were entitled to practise in these Courts, but no attorneys except those admitted by the Court for each circuit. The Northern and Oxford Circuits of the English Bar supplied the Chester and South Wales Circuits with counsel. It was not the professional usage or etiquette for King's Counsel to practise in Wales. Junior counsel practised in every branch—civil, criminal, and equitable. ”

“ Counsel at common law attach themselves to one or other of the circuits into which England is divided, and may not practise elsewhere unless under special conditions. In chancery the king's counsel for the most part restrict themselves to one or other of the courts of the chancery division. ”

“ In all England and Wales only about 17,000 solicitors took out annual certificates last year. This indicates the number of offices and does not include clerks (many of whom have been admitted to practice as solicitors) , nor those who, for one reason or another, do not practice. Instead of being concentrated, like the barristers, in the Inns of Court in London, solicitors are scattered all over the town and throughout the Kingdom itself. Some, especially in the minor towns or poorer quarters of London, are in a small way of business and must earn rather a precarious living. ”

“ And, though in the first instance a workman might often make shift to state his case in the County Court himself and rely on his own advocacy as to the facts and the judge’s knowledge of the law, it is absurd to suppose he could argue a legal point in the Court of Appeal or House of Lords without assistance. Unless a trade union is ready to take up the case, the only hope of a man getting his rights is through the aid of a speculative solicitor. ”

“ It is pleasing to note that some of our leading advocates who, having been called away from large and active law practice to enter the government service, have expressed their intention, when they resume the practice of the law, to refuse all cases where clients are not already represented by competent attorneys, recognizing, at least in their own practice, the English distinction between the barrister and solicitor. ”

“ Down to the 17th century the solicitor of the chancery courts was considered inferior to the attorney of the common law courts, but the rapid growth of equity jurisdiction gave the solicitor an importance in no degree inferior to his fellow practitioner at the common law. ”

“ Principal Solicitor, John Bathe, of Drumconragh, Co. Dublin, and Athcame,—Cowley surrendered,—patent, 7 Feb. 1546.—Pleasure.—To exercise the office in all things as the Solicitor General of England did.—37 Hen. VIII. f. R. 7.—Continued hy Edward VI.—patent, 15 March, 1547, by the Lord Deputy, which was confirmed by Privy Seal from Westminster, 24 March.—1 Edw. VI. 1a pars f. R. 3, 11.
Solicitor General, John Bathe,—Barnewall surrendered, being made Master of the Rolls,—patent, 6 Oct. 1550.—Life.—Fee, £10 Irish.—4 Edw. VI. f. R. 26, 31. ”

“ We find it needful for our service to advance our Attorney in that Kingdom to the place of a Judge in our Bench of Common Pleas there, and in his place of Attorney we have made choice of Sir John Davys, Knt., now our Solicitor, to succeed and he our Attorney, and to take into the room of our Solicitor, which by his remove shall he void, a Counsellor-at-Law, practising in the Kingdom, and recommended ”

“ Its supporters, in fact, are for the most part to be found among ambitious young solicitors who have acquired a taste for advocacy in the Police and County Courts. They urge that it would cheapen litigation, inasmuch as there would be only one person to pay instead of two, and they point to the United States and to the Colonies as indicating that amalgamation would work well. In great cities, however, the division of labour between the advocate and the solicitor, although theoretically non-existent, is in reality very similar to what it is in this country. ”

“ He adds that the Justices do not give enough time in hearing equity cases, and that many suitors are compelled to come before the Council of the Marches, which gives judgment more speedily and at less expense. Appeals in personal actions lay from the Courts of Great Sessions to the Council. Instances of the conflict of jurisdiction between the two bodies were not common, although there were many complaints in general terms of persons being drawn from remote parts of Wales to attend the Council. ”

“ Then the Treasurer shakes hands with the new barrister and the latter walks away to join his comrades.
Solicitors are created by entirely different methods, as there are no Inns nor any similar organizations for students. There is a preliminary examination to determine whether the boy who desires to become a solicitor, has sufficient general education. If so, he is apprenticed, for a period of five years, to some practitioner, for which privilege he pays a sum of money, say from 100 to 400 guineas ”

“ The Court points to England, Scotland, Ceylon and India as having equally rigid rules. As in Brother HARLAN points out, post, pp. 521-523, the Court is mistaken in this regard, for it overlooks counterbalancing prosecutorial advantages. Moreover, the requirements of the Federal Bureau of Investigation do not appear from the Solicitor General's letter, ante, pp. 484-486, to be as strict as those imposed today in at least two respects: (1) The offer of counsel is articulated only as "a right to counsel"; nothing is said about a right to have counsel present at the custodial interrogation. ”

“ The advocate must always be the advocate, and nothing more, and the drudgery of preparing the material for him to work upon must be reserved for other persons, whether they occupy the position of solicitors, partners, or clerks.
Under the present system, a solicitor can exercise his judgment in retaining the counsel most suited to his client's case, an advantage which would disappear if solicitors had barristers for partners. The solicitor, it should be remembered, has multifarious duties in connection with litigation, whilst the barrister is only the adviser on points of law and the advocate. ”

“ With us when a man is charged with an offense against the laws he engages a lawyer—one is sufficient and quite costly enough. In England they are divided into three classes, viz.: solicitors, barristers and Queen's Counsels.
The solicitor takes the case and transacts all the business connected with it. A barrister is the lawyer who is employed by the solicitor to conduct the case in court and make the pleadings. He never comes in contact with the [Pg 384] client, but takes the brief and all instructions from the solicitor. ”

“ People living in the country or in provincial towns, especially the larger ones, such as Liverpool and Manchester, of course consult local solicitors. If litigation is contemplated, the solicitor advises his client and conducts the sparring and negotiations which usually precede a lawsuit. But when actual warfare opens, the provincial solicitor generally associates himself with a London solicitor who is known as his "agent" ”

“ I believe he is above any paltry consideration of that sort—but, gentlemen, all men are influenced by one motive or another, and the Attorney-General, though he is the first law officer of the Crown in Ireland, is human like ourselves; he is not above all human frailty, but like other men, doubtless, likes office, and likes the emolument which office brings. But, gentlemen of the jury, it will be your fault if you make your shoulders the stepping-stone for the Attorney-General to spring upon the bench. ”

“ It is no light task which the English Government set before itself to provide laws and suitable tribunals to administer them to so many millions of men; for you must remember that such tribunals as the British Government proposes, require not only a judge to sit on the bench, but a trained bar, and a knowledge of the general principles of the law and practice of the tribunals very widely diffused among the community at large. ”

“ A counsel does not commit any breach of etiquette in advising, without the intervention of an English solicitor, on a case submitted to him by a colonial advocate in a colony where the professions of barrister and solicitor are combined. ”

“ In no other part of His Majesty's dominions would they be allowed to practise as attorneys, and whatever reason may have existed before this time for extending such an indulgence to them, none can be now pretended to exist after the liberal provision which His Majesty's Government have made for this purpose by the appointment of respectable solicitors at a considerable expense to the Crown—an appointment which would be rendered wholly unnecessary by granting the Petitioners' application. ”