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, solic ...
in certain jurisdictions, including
South Africa (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. In Canada, it is used only in
Quebec 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 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 ...
s.
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 in England and Wales and the
Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland) 1877 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 op ...
, 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,
Ireland, and
Northern Ireland, 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 also persists.
See also
* Attorneys in Japan
* Attorneys in Sri Lanka
* Attorneys in the United States
*Attorneys in South Africa In South Africa, there are two main branches of legal practitioner: attorneys, who do legal work of all kinds, and advocates, who are specialists litigators. Attorneys may form professional firms and practice in partnerships, ranging in size to th ...
* Attorney-in-law (Poland)
References
{{Reflist
Lawyers
Professional titles and certifications
Professional certification in law