Look up counsel in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of lawyer.
The word counsel can also mean advice given outside of the context of the legal profession.
The legal system in England uses the term counsel as an approximate synonym for a barrister-at-law, but not for a solicitor, and may apply it to mean either a single person who pleads a cause, or collectively, the body of barristers engaged in a case.[1]
The difference between "Barrister" and "Counsel" is subtle. In England and Wales, "Barrister" is a professional title awarded by one of the four Inns of Court, and is used in a barrister's private, academic or professional capacity. "Counsel" is used to refer to a barrister who is instructed on a particular case. It is customary to use the third person when addressing a barrister instructed on a case: "Counsel is asked to advise" rather than "You are asked to advise".
The legal term counsellor, or more fully, counsellor-at-law, became practically obsolete in England, but continued in use locally in Ireland,[2] as an equivalent to barrister, where a Senior Counsel (S.C.) is equivalent to the UK King's Counsel (K.C.)
After they have graduated from University with a law degree, they become a 'junior counsel', their work normally is completing most of the paperwork in cases (such as drafting legal documents). After about 10 to 15 years of practising as a junior counsel, a barrister may apply to become a senior counsel. This is sometimes called "taking silk" this because the senior counsel's gown was traditionally made of silk. A senior counsel may have the letters SC after his/her name.[2]
In the United States of America, the term counselor-at-law designates, specifically, an attorney admitted to practice in all courts of law; but as the United States legal system makes no formal division of the legal profession into two classes, as in the United Kingdom, most US citizens use the term loosely in the same sense as lawyer, meaning one who is versed in (or practicing) law.[1]
In the United States and Canada, many large and midsize law firms have lawyers with the job title of "counsel", "special counsel" or "of counsel". These lawyers are employees of the firm like associates, although some firms have an independent contractor relationship with them. But unlike associates, and more like partners, they generally have their own clients, manage their own files, and may supervise associates.
Non-legal usage
The word "counsel" also means advice given by a professional (psychology and social sciences, religious, academic, etc.) regarding the judgment or conduct of another.[3]
^ abOne or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Counsel and Counsellor". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 312.
^ ab"Barristers". www.citizensinformation.ie. from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
^"counsel". from the original on 2015-10-02. Retrieved 2015-09-30 – via The Free Dictionary.
January 26, 2023
counsel, confused, with, council, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, . Not to be confused with Council This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Counsel news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Look up counsel in Wiktionary the free dictionary A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues particularly in legal matters It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of lawyer The word counsel can also mean advice given outside of the context of the legal profession Contents 1 UK and Ireland 2 North America 3 Non legal usage 4 See also 5 ReferencesUK and Ireland EditThe legal system in England uses the term counsel as an approximate synonym for a barrister at law but not for a solicitor and may apply it to mean either a single person who pleads a cause or collectively the body of barristers engaged in a case 1 The difference between Barrister and Counsel is subtle In England and Wales Barrister is a professional title awarded by one of the four Inns of Court and is used in a barrister s private academic or professional capacity Counsel is used to refer to a barrister who is instructed on a particular case It is customary to use the third person when addressing a barrister instructed on a case Counsel is asked to advise rather than You are asked to advise The legal term counsellor or more fully counsellor at law became practically obsolete in England but continued in use locally in Ireland 2 as an equivalent to barrister where a Senior Counsel S C is equivalent to the UK King s Counsel K C After they have graduated from University with a law degree they become a junior counsel their work normally is completing most of the paperwork in cases such as drafting legal documents After about 10 to 15 years of practising as a junior counsel a barrister may apply to become a senior counsel This is sometimes called taking silk this because the senior counsel s gown was traditionally made of silk A senior counsel may have the letters SC after his her name 2 North America EditFurther information Law firm In the United States of America the term counselor at law designates specifically an attorney admitted to practice in all courts of law but as the United States legal system makes no formal division of the legal profession into two classes as in the United Kingdom most US citizens use the term loosely in the same sense as lawyer meaning one who is versed in or practicing law 1 In the United States and Canada many large and midsize law firms have lawyers with the job title of counsel special counsel or of counsel These lawyers are employees of the firm like associates although some firms have an independent contractor relationship with them But unlike associates and more like partners they generally have their own clients manage their own files and may supervise associates Non legal usage EditThe word counsel also means advice given by a professional psychology and social sciences religious academic etc regarding the judgment or conduct of another 3 See also EditAttorney at law General counsel Ineffective assistance of counselReferences Edit a b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Counsel and Counsellor Encyclopaedia Britannica Vol 7 11th ed Cambridge University Press p 312 a b Barristers www citizensinformation ie Archived from the original on 24 October 2020 Retrieved 24 September 2020 counsel Archived from the original on 2015 10 02 Retrieved 2015 09 30 via The Free Dictionary Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Counsel amp oldid 1134414003, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
