Attorneys and Advocates- who is more senior?

Am I an attorney or an advocate? 

Last week I have attended a meeting hosted by the LSSA at which one of the speakers mentioned during his speech that a Minister (it is really not important which Minister it was or in what context it was said) remarked that he "knew" that Advocates are more "senior" than Attorneys.

I know very well that it is not just a Minister that thinks this. This is a common view that pops up from the public every once in a while...

It sometimes appears in the form of a client who specially requests for an advocate to be appointed, without any knowledge of who this advocate may be or what he has done, just because his opponent has one on his side, or where an advocate gets requested because he or she happens to be well-known among the public.

Much of the legal profession runs on appearances. That cannot be disputed. I will admit that where appearance is concerned advocates often do appear better than attorneys. You don't see them rushing back and forth to deliver papers. They don't index and paginate court files. They don't make copies of documents. No no no... They instruct attorneys to do those things...

Western society has a tendency to give more respect to those people who are not seen to be involved in what is regarded as menial tasks.

We as attorneys? We take telephone calls, write letters, deliver documents, make sure that a court file is ready for trial or hearing and deal with the management of a court case long before the advocate gets his moment in the spotlight at court. Since none of these tasks are seen by the public watching from the gallery- it is understandable that the person that does all the talking, and sounding really clever while he or she is at it, shall be regarded as "more senior".

Truth is, however, that if one has to look for a reason to give the one higher regard than the other not even differences in legal knowledge will be of any use. Knowledge differs among attorneys as much as it differs between attorneys and and advocates. The difference with advocates, however, is that, fortunately, the advocate usually advertises his specialised field of expertise so that an attorney can know who to call upon to fill the gaps in his own knowledge if a case calls for it. This is why I hold the view that an attorney is in a much better position than a client to decide whether the appointment of an advocate is necessary or not.

You may ask: Hasn't an advocate studied longer for his profession than an attorney?

The answer is that is a simple "no".

It deserves to be mentioned that vocational training in addition to the LLB degree has always been a requirement for attorneys while new advocates only get to have this requirement after the enactment of the Legal Practice Act in 2014. Before this time an attorney had to serve a term of articles (usually 2 years of grunt work) and then write he Board Exam after he or she has obtained the LLB Degree. During this time many advocates got admitted as such just by obtaining the LLB Degree and then applying to the High Court to be admitted as such.

I love appearing in court and attending to my own hearings and trials. As a result I have litigated against many advocates in my time and will still do so for a long time to come.

The benefit that my clients derive from this is that they do not have to pay the unforeseen expense of an individual whose costs I was not able to estimate in the projection I give at the time of taking first instructions and costs get managed a lot easier. Whenever an advocate does become necessary I do not hesitate to appoint one, but the costs are always risky because you never really know what an advocate charges. I am glad to say, however, that I am fortunate to know some really competent advocates or counsels whose fees are really reasonable.

The benefit that I derive from doing my own trials and hearings is of course that I get to receive the day fee in respect of the court appearances.

Before I leave you- I want direct your attention to the above photos. That is my High Court wear. Advocates wear the same kind of attire. So- if you do not know us beforehand you will not be able to tell us apart in the High Court. :D