n the US, Lawyer, attorney, solicitor, and barrister all are different words for basically the

same thing - a person who is learned in the law and licensed in some form or another to
practice law in a given jurisdiction. Some people will claim that one can be a "lawyer" and
not be licensed, but in practical common use the term refers to one licensed to practice law.

A litigator is a specific type of lawyer who tries cases in court, as opposed to a transactional
lawyer who might work on contracts and never see the inside of a courtroom.

A paralegal is a professional who may or may not be licensed, but who assists a lawyer in
their regular duties; they may do research, draft documents, liaise with clients, but cannot
give legal advice or represent someone else as their attorney.

An agent is simply one person who acts on behalf of another, or on behalf of a corporation;
employees are "agents" of the company for which they work, and a lawyer may act as an
"agent" of their client.

Finally, an advocate is someone who represents another in a legal situation, and who takes
that clients interests and protects them; generally speaking, advocates are usually lawyers,
although in the US there are non-lawyer advocates who may represent crime victims, abuse
victims, or children (as guardians ad litem).
Updated 28 Sep 2014 View Upvotes
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Approximate and somewhat chaotic answer...

Lawyers are those licensed by a regulator to practice law.

Attorneys, solicitors, and barristers are lawyers in the Anglo-American tradition. In England
attorneys died out in the 19th century, the roles of barristers and solicitors expanding to fill
the gap. In the US jurisdictions the reverse appears to have happened. Barristers are court
lawyers ( cf "trial attorneys") and must be instructed by solicitors not by lay clients, except
for the novel "public access barristers", who can take instructions direct from clients.
Solicitors are non-court lawyers who take instructions from lay clients but can appear only
in the lowest of courts and types of claims, except for the novel "solicitor-advocates" with
"higher rights of audience" who can also appear in appropriate higher courts and/or claim
tracks. Thus the professions are merging in England toward the US "fused" model, whereas
ironically in the US jurisdictions the professions reputedly are specialising toward the
English model.

In Anglo-American usage, advocates are those who speak for clients in Court (in Europe it's
more subtle but I don't know details). Most advocates are lawyers but not all: for instance
non-legally-qualified "costs lawyers", and CPS "Associate Crown Prosecutors" who
regrettably are unregulated.

Paralegals are people who assist lawyers in law firms but do not hold practising certificates,
even though many of them are trained in law and some manage entire litigation

departments.

"Agents" in English usage are either (a) self-employed barristers instructed to prosecute by
the CPS; or (b) solicitors instructed by other solicitors due to either geographical
convenience or international/multijurisdictional necessity. Costs rules are very different
where agents are used.

Litigators are lawyers (or paralegals) who litigate.

Written 30 Sep 2014 View Upvotes
This answer is not a substitute for professional legal advice.... (more)

Muath Masoud, Law Student

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It largely depends on the jurisdiction; in the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand a
Solicitor is who you go to with your legal problems. They carry out all the work preceding a
case, and then they "instruct" the Barrister who then represents you in court.

There are other differences like Barristers being required by law to be solo practitioners etc.
Australia and New Zealand are moving towards a fused profession similar to that of a US
attorney though.