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A legal system includes lawyers providing service at many positions, which can become very confusing for an individual to understand who works at what and the different roles they play in the law firm.
Let us comprehend the difference between a lawyer, attorney, legal administrator, and paralegal.
Understanding different professionals working in law positions in the legal system
A lawyer
A lawyer is a legally proficient, who has completed and is skilled in the field of law. Any individual who has achieved a bachelor’s degree in law is qualified to be called a lawyer.
However, to stand for the client and represent them in court, additional training and qualifications are required. As a lawyer, you are qualified to practice as a legal advisor or a consultant.
An attorney
For being represented as an attorney, a lawyer has to complete basic qualifications and training. After this, they have to cover their internship period by working under an attorney for gaining direct experience in handling legal cases.
During the internship period, the lawyer has to submit articles. And after completing them they can sit for a board exam. Passing the board exam gives you access to apply to a higher court to practice as an attorney.
An attorney provides services as a litigator, patent attorney, and conveyance.
An advocate
An advocate is a legal professional who has to symbolize the client in court. If you approach an attorney, they will direct the client to the advocate in case the situation requires handling the case in court. An advocate can represent the client at higher courts as well. They do litigation cases and duties, which mostly depend on the field they are practicing and consulting.
To officially practice as an advocate, one has to be registered as a member of the council of the bar.
An advocate in Dubai will represent your case in court rather than a lawyer. The advocate works on the case with the help of a paralegal.
Who is a paralegal?
A paralegal is responsible for the research part and interrogating the client for the case. They conduct all the work that would be required by the lawyer or attorney during the case. A paralegal works as a legal assistant for the attorney. Whose role is to help in drafting and filing legal documents.
A legal administrator
A legal administrator is an element of a legal system that looks after administrative duties. Which requires going through intensive training for handling the legal affairs of the firm. They are not like any office administrator but to qualify as a legal administrator they have to have sound knowledge of laws and legal practice.
Some of the roles of a legal administrator are;
- Work on legal documentation
- Work with clients related to an administrative matter
- Filing
- Looking after office materials
- Administration of lawyer schedules and meetings
When do these terms become so confusing?
Though each position is different from the others. In reality, it can still become very confusing for a non-professional to understand certain roles. The confusion is due to the overlapping of common characteristics of legal duties and consultation in practice.
Like a paralegal, also have to work and perform duties as a legal administrator for a law firm.
Another confusion that can happen is that different countries acknowledge these professionals differently. In some places, an advocate is called a barrister.
Whereas a paralegal is also named as a clerk or a legal administrator and is also referred to as a legal secretary.
In conclusion:
If you are looking for setting up a career in the Law field. You should be aware of these terminologies before you decide to choose the one suitable for you. With years of studies and training, an individual becomes a professional and a specialized lawyer who can help in sorting legal things for you. By knowing differentiation, you would know whom to consult next time you require any legal advice. You should be aware of whether to consult advocates or handle issues with a lawyer in Dubai will be enough.