Difference between lawyer and attorney

Last update: 24/04/2023
Author: Sebastian Vidal

Introduction

In the legal field, it is quite common to hear the terms lawyer and attorney, and although they seem to be synonyms, they are not. In this article, we will explain the difference between both professions.

Lawyer

A lawyer is a person who has a law degree and is licensed to practice law. This means that it can represent their clients in courts and legally advise them on any matter related to the law.

The lawyer is the professional who is in charge of drafting legal documents, such as contracts or wills, and can also defend his clients in lawsuits of any kind.

Lawyers can specialize in different branches of law, such as labor, criminal, civil, among others.

Attorney

For their part, attorneys are the professionals in charge of representing clients before courts and tribunals. The attorney is in charge of carrying out all the necessary acts to defend the interests of his client and monitors the judicial process.

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Contrary to what many believe, the attorney does not have to be a lawyer, although many of them are. The attorney is in charge of carrying out all the necessary procedures during the judicial process, such as presenting documents and carrying out procedures before the courts and tribunals.

Difference between lawyer and attorney

Now that we have defined what a lawyer and a solicitor are, we can conclude that the main difference between the two is that the lawyer advises his client legally and can represent him in court, while the solicitor is in charge of carrying out all the necessary procedures before the courts and tribunals.

In short, the lawyer is in charge of developing legal strategies to defend the interests of his client and the attorney is in charge of carrying out all the necessary procedures before the courts.

List of differences

  • Lawyer: advises legally and represents the client in court.
  • Attorney: manages all the necessary procedures before the courts and represents the client in them.
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Conclusion

In conclusion, although lawyer and attorney are frequently used terms, it is important to know that they do not mean the same thing. The main difference lies in the functions that each one performs in the judicial process.