Attorney at law or attorney-at-law, usually abbreviated in everyday speech to attorney, is the preferred term for a practising

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

in certain jurisdictions, including

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

(for certain lawyers),

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, the Philippines, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. In Canada, it is used only in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

as the English term for ''avocat''. The term has its roots in the verb '' to attorn'', meaning to transfer one's rights and obligations to another.

Previous usage in Ireland and Britain

The term was previously used in England and Wales and Ireland for lawyers who practised in the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omniprese ...

courts. They were officers of the courts and were under judicial supervision.A. H. Manchester, ''A Modern Legal History of England and Wales, 1750–1850'', Butterworths: London, 1980. Attorneys did not generally actually appear as advocates in the higher courts, a role reserved (as it still usually is) for

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

Solicitors A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

, those lawyers who practised in the courts of equity, were considered to be more respectable than attorneys and by the mid-19th century many attorneys were calling themselves solicitors. The

Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 The Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873 (sometimes known as the Judicature Act 1873) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1873. It reorganised the English court system to establish the High Court and the Court of Appeal, and ...

in England and Wales and the

Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 The Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that brought about a major reorganisation of the superior courts in Ireland. It created a Supreme Court of Judicature, comprising the High C ...

in Ireland redesignated all attorneys as solicitors. The term persists in legal usage in the United Kingdom solely in the instance of

patent attorneys A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing patent applications and o ...

, who are legal professionals having sat professional qualifications and are expert in acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice. They may, or may not, be additionally either solicitors or barristers, or have come to the practice through a technical expert route (e.g. following a PhD and period of practice in a scientific or engineering field). In the now three separate jurisdictions of

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, references in any enactment to attorneys, with the exception of patent attorneys, must be construed as references to solicitors. The Solicitors Act 1954
section 84
/ref> The position of

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

also persists.

References

{{Reflist Lawyers Professional titles and certifications Professional certification in law

Previous usage in Ireland and Britain

See also

References