Learn English – What are the differences between litigator, counsel, and attorney

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I’m watching a law- and court-related TV show, and the following terms are being used. What are the differences between them? I’m interested in the differences in connotation if there are any. Or are they more or less interchangeable?

  • litigator
  • counsel
  • attorney

I’ve looked the terms up in a dictionary but since I am not a native speaker of English, I don't understand the nuances in meaning.

Definitions according to Oxford Dictionary:

  • litigator
    • to litigate: resort to legal action to settle a matter; be involved in a lawsuit
  • counsel
    • a barrister or other legal adviser conducting a case
  • attorney
    • a person, typically a lawyer, appointed to act for another in business or legal matters

Best Answer

In U.S. practice, the terms are used as follows:

Litigator - an attorney whose practice is focused on litigation, that is lawsuits. This is mostly used to refer to people who specialize in civil suits (suits brought by someone other than a criminal prosecution agency) seeking an award of money or an injunction (a judicial order) requiring someone to do something or stop doing something.

She was a litigator specializing in intellectual property trial work.

Counsel - This is a general term for lawyer, also known as counselor. It is frequently used to refer to a lawyer who works exclusively for one company or one agency.

He was general counsel to the NBA.

After the outburst, the Judge said "Counselor, control your client."

Attorney - this is a general term for a lawyer in both the federal and state court systems in the U.S. In general, attorneys in the U.S. are permitted all types of practice (with a few minor exception) unlike the solicitor/barrister systems elsewhere.

The attorneys who graduated from that law school went on to various jobs as litigators, criminal lawyers, corporate lawers, and in-house counsel.

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