Reading this article , for my personal desire to brush up my English, I have become interested to know more details in English usage. Now, thee are 2 words which sounds similar in the article, Attorney and Lawyer.
This page says,
Who Are Lawyers?
A lawyer is someone who is educated in the law. A person who has been educated in the law will always be addressed as a lawyer, even if he or she does not give legal advice to other people. In fact, a lawyer in the United States is simply anyone who has gone through law school.Who Are Attorneys?
Attorneys are also recognized as lawyers. Attorneys graduate from law school and they can also choose to practice law as a profession. However a potential attorney must pass the bar exam to be eligible to practice law within a specific jurisdiction. Apart from performing the basic functions of a lawyer, attorneys can also act as legal representatives for their clients.
So am I correct in understanding that people in the English zone call people who are engaged in legal matters as lawyers as a general term, , and call the attorneys aka lawyers who are prosecuting some specific lawsuit.
Please kindly correct my understanding if there is.
And I would like to also know the difference from the prosecutor and the above 2.
P.S It looks like this question went into HNQ. Unless Lambie, the answer, who is receiving a lot of requests, update her answer, I am sorry I can't improve my question anymore. ( P.S + I actually don't understand even in my own language what the real difference is between barrister and the solicitor (and others))
Best Answer
an attorney in AmE is the same as a lawyer.
In the UK, lawyers are barristers OR solicitors. Barristers argue cases in court. Solicitors do the preparatory legal work and handle other non-court matters.
The words attorney and lawyer are interchangeable in AmE. Prosecution has nothing to do with it. To be lawyer (attorney aka legal counsel), you have to take an exam. The Brits do not use the term attorney. They only say lawyer, when they do not specify barrister or solicitor. They too must take special courses and pass exams. In the US,it is much simpler in the sense that every state has a Bar exam which you must pass in order to practice law in that state. Some states recognize other states' exams.
A prosecutor is a lawyer who works for the state/government and defends its interests.
In the UK, they say Crown prosecutor, as the UK is a kingdom. In the US, we say prosecutor, which can be a district, state or Federal prosecutor. The court system is really complicated.
In both the UK and US, prosecutors are not "hired" except when they become civil servants or public servants and receive a salary.
Finally, prosecutors are also lawyers. You can't defend a government's interests in a court of law and not be a lawyers, just to be clear.