What is the difference between all the types of lawyers?
After joining Scorpion Legal Protection, Lebogang went through her welcome package (fulfilment pack) and saw that there was talk of lawyers and attorneys. She thought all of them were just lawyers! Unsure of the difference, she contacted Scorpion to find out more.
What does the law say?
In South Africa, there are three different types of lawyers: legal advisors, attorneys and advocates. To qualify to become a lawyer, you must have an LLB degree from a South African university. The different types of lawyers are trained differently and work on different legal matters.
Attorneys
Attorneys spend most of their time collecting money from people who don’t pay debts, transferring properties, drawing up legal documents like contracts and wills, handling claims for personal injuries and damages, and doing commercial work. Some attorneys specialise in a specific area of the law like labour law, etc.
Attorneys may also qualify as conveyancers (handling transfer of ownership of land/buildings) and notaries (drawing up and certifying documents).
Attorneys only have right of appearance in the magistrate’s court and cannot appear in the higher courts, but some senior attorneys might.
Attorneys don’t spend much time in court and some may never go to court.
Advocates
Unlike attorneys, who spend a lot of their time in the office, advocates spend a lot of their time in court. Advocates can appear in any court except the small claims court and traditional courts. Advocates must practice alone; they cannot enter into partnerships like attorneys. Advocates don’t get cases directly from clients, instead attorneys bring cases to them.
Legal advisor
Legal advisors also work in a legal office and are essentially lawyers, but they cannot go to court – only attorneys and advocates can.
A legal advisor’s roles may include the following:
- Interviewing clients
- Conducting research
- Giving legal advice
- Drafting legal documents
- Liaising with third parties on behalf of clients
How can Scorpion help you?
As a Scorpion member, our legal advisors will give you advice and, depending on the seriousness of the matter and your cover, Scorpion may refer it to an attorney. If it’s a high court matter or there’s an appeal and the attorney has submitted a written submission to Scorpion, the matter may be referred to an advocate.
Source: www.oxbridgeacademy.edu.za; McQuoid-Mason, D. Street Law Practical guide for South Africans (2015)
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