How to Identify Difference between Lawyer and Advocate?

Advocate and lawyer difference everyone at some time in their lives needs help regarding matters about the law. It could be on account of inheriting a property or an asset. You might be involved in the process inheriting a property or selling it and so on. These are instances wherein the transactions are legally recorded and need to be recorded rightly. Apart from this, there may be certain criminal matters, too, whereby the help of a legal expert is necessary, what you would realize that law is a specialized subject and it needs to be treated seriously. The reason is that they have profound legal implications. So, it can not be handled by us unless we are qualified enough, and it requires specialized knowledge of experts who deal with the law. Legal experts ensure that the legal interests of their clients are safeguarded.

Advocate Vs. lawyer often assumed to be the same.

When we speak of legal experts or people who help us deal with legal matters, we usually use the terms lawyer and advocate interchangeably. We assume that both of them are the same. However, there is a difference. So let us try and understand the advocate and lawyer difference. To better understand the difference between the two, let us, first of all, know who they are.

Who is a Lawyer?

If you are wondering about lawyer meaning, in simple words, a lawyer is any person who has a degree in law. There can be several types of lawyers, including advocates, attorneys, solicitors, and so on. But not all lawyers are advocates.

Who is an Advocate?

An advocate is a lawyer who represents their client in the court of law. They plead for the client, which could be for compensation or release. It depends on the nature of the case.

Terms for practicing law

Speaking of lawyers, it is evident that they would want to practice in a court of law. However, if they are to practice law, they are required to get enrolled in a state bar council. At the same time to practice, they need to pass the All-India Bar Exam. Once the lawyer has cleared the bar exam, he is eligible to advocate and represent clients in the court of law.

The difference in terms of experience

Lawyers have relatively less experience in comparison with advocates. Lawyers could even be the youngsters who have just passed out from law school. They might not yet have acquired the necessary experience to represent the clients in a court of law. On the other hand, advocates are much more experienced than having the skills and knowledge required to deliver the legal services required of them. So, this is another point that needs to be considered for understanding the advocate and lawyer difference.

The type of services that can be expected from each of them

While considering the hiring of legal services, you need to keep in mind that lawyers might give legal advice. But they will not be able to represent you in the law court. In contrast, the advocates are enabled to serve in many more ways. It is on account of the skills and the knowledge they have in the field. They can give legal advice to their clients and represent them in a court of law. They have a much bigger responsibility compared to lawyers. Advocates are obliged to ensure that the interests of their clients are safeguarded to the best of their abilities.

The difference in the amount of fees that are charged

Since the role of the lawyers is limited compared to the advocates, the legal fee that they charge is less compared to that of the advocates. As the responsibilities of the advocates are much more elaborate than the fees, they charge much higher. They are much better qualified to deal with legal matters, and thus the remuneration they expect is much higher. It is something that you need to keep in mind while hiring advocates. You must be well-prepared to pay higher fees to the advocates. 

Therefore, we can see that though most of us think or assume that the lawyers and advocates are the same and often used these terms interchangeably. But if you go in-depth, you would see significant differences between the roles that the lawyers and the advocates play. Through this blog, wherein we have tried and pointed out the difference between the lawyer and advocate, you would have realized that the latter are much more experienced. Advocates have a much broader and more critical role in serving their clients. Now that you have understood the main differences between the two, we hope that you would now be able to hire them based on your legal needs. If it is a simple legal matter where simple legal advice is required, lawyers may suffice. But for more complex cases where there is a question of representing in the court of law, a suitable advocate is a must.