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Both barristers and solicitor advocates are qualified legal professionals who represent their clients during court proceedings, but their roles are somewhat different. Read on to find out some of the differences between the two.

1. Workwear

One of the biggest differences between barristers and solicitor advocates is the requisite court dress. Barristers are assigned specific court attire consisting of a long black robe and wig. Barristers generally wear a wool robe, while King’s Counsel wear silk robes.

Find out why barristers wear wigs in my previous blog post.

On the other hand, solicitor advocates aren’t assigned a specific court dress and generally wear professional business attire.

2. Workplace

Barristers are typically self-employed and work in chambers. In contrast, solicitor advocates combine the roleof barristers and solicitors and work in a law firm while also representing their clients in the court. Solicitor advocates, like barristers, have rights of audience in all courts which gives them the right to appear in all courts.

3. Benefits

Since most barristers are self-employed, they’re only paid through the fees they charge clients. So, while they control their workload and when they take time off, they aren’t paid for that time. Meanwhile, solicitor advocates are employed by a law firm and receive the benefits associated with this work, including paid sick leave, maternity or paternity leave, and holidays.

4. Direct access work

Direct access work refers to work given directly from clients. Barristers normally get their case and papers from solicitor law firms and then represent the client in court. This means they don’t have much interaction with the client. Solicitor advocates, on the other hand, interact with clients throughout the case and then go on to represent that client in court.

5. Earning potential

Depending on the practice area, barristers can earn hundreds of thousands of pounds a year. Some chambers offer a pupillage award worth more than £80,000 and dividends as a junior barrister can quickly surpass this number. Some barristers have even been known to earn millions per case.

Solicitor advocate earnings are generally the same as solicitors, in the region of £100,000 to £200,000 depending on the firm and level of seniority. Of course, if you make partner at a law firm then those earnings drastically increase.

6. Route to qualification

The initial route to qualification is the same for both solicitor advocates and barristers, namely an undergraduate law degree or the law conversion course following a non-law degree. For those wishing to qualify as solicitors, this has changed with the introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE).

The next step for barristers is to undergo the bar vocational training course and complete a one-year pupillage in a barrister’s chambers. It’s only after successful completion of pupillage that prospective barristers become qualified to practise.

Solicitor advocates must complete either the Legal Practice Course followed by a two-year training contract or the SQE. The introduction of the SQE in 2021 changed the qualification route for aspiring solicitors. You can use LawCareers.Net’s SQE hub to find out about the requirements and how the SQE works. Following successful completion, aspiring solicitors can then take a Higher Rights of Audience course to gain the status as an advocate.

7. Work experience

Work experience for barristers is called a mini-pupillage and is undertaken with chambers. Students usually spend between two days to a week shadowing a barrister in chambers, analysing cases and networking with members of chambers. Mini-pupillages are generally unpaid and information on how to apply can be found on chambers’ websites or via the pupillage deadlines page on LawCareers.Net.

Solicitor advocates can complete a vacation scheme at law firms, where they spend between a week or two experiencing life at the firm and completing tasks that mirror life as a trainee lawyer or solicitor.

Vacation schemes are generally paid and some law firms even offer you a training contract interview at the end of the scheme.

Want to learn more about Pupillage? Check out this LCN Says from pupil barrister Emilene Davis.