While watching TV this evening it occurred to me that I have no idea what the difference between a lawyer and an attorney is. So being adept at looking information up online I hit up Google and asked.

I was immediately hit with a bunch of legal double speak which makes no sense to me whatsoever, but what I did gather from the information I saw was:

• An attorney is a licensed member of the legal professional
• A lawyer is a person who is trained in the legal field and provides advice on legal matters
• An attorney can represent a client in court in all matters while a lawyer is restricted

And there’s so many more difference between the two but I think we’ve all been confused enough as it is. So if you ever find yourself needing a lawyer think carefully because you might actually need an attorney… Unless it involves unrestricted matters that the lawyer is capable (or legally allowed to handle).

What’s really sad is I’m just as confused as when I first went to look up the information as to what makes a lawyer different from an attorney. But I suppose it could be worse. In Britain they are known as lawyers, attorneys, barristers, solicitor and esquires. And here I thought barristers made coffee but it turns out they’re lawyers (or maybe that would be attorneys) too.

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Tags: attorney, court, justice, law, lawyer, legal profession