In the today's world, it is no longer a flight of fancy to hire services of a lawyer or attorney-at-law but a present-day reality. Someone may need to hire a professional family lawyer to deal with his or her family issues, while the other may need a professional lawyer to have other matters handled.
Having consulted with experts of Alva Privacy Law Firm, we are going to try to sort out whether there is any difference between a lawyer and an attorney-at-law and how their services may differ.
Difference between services of an attorney-at-law and a lawyer
The legal service market is now distinguished for two key categories of service providers – lawyers and attorneys-at-law. Though the legal service business has long been established in our county, people may still find themselves in such or other situation when they do not understand the difference between services of lawyers and services of attorneys-at-law, so that they may be confused with finding out whose professional services they actually need: those of an attorney-at-law or of a lawyer.
For example, it would suffice for any of us to contact an ordinary lawyer to have many simple legal issues resolved or be consulted accordingly. The same is the case for most of business entities who seek legal support. This is also relevant for the drafting of legal documents (statements, complaints, letters, contracts, etc.), and provision of legal advice on certain issues. The concept of "legal services" encompasses all of this.
However, if it comes to dealing with more complicated issues, representing and protecting rights and interests before court, participating in criminal proceedings, defending the accused or the suspect, conducting a case over an administrative offense, participating in court hearings, it is exactly an attorney-at-law whom you need and whose services you should hire.
When is it necessary to contact specifically an attorney-at-law?
Thus, we recommend those who are faced with an issue of whose services to choose: those of a lawyer or those of an attorney-at-law, to seek specifically services of an attorney-at-law whenever:
- a dispute has already arisen but it is expected (or theoretically possible) that such dispute will be referred to a court for its resolution;
- it is about deciding whether the person will be brought to administrative or criminal liability;
- you need to be represented in court, participate in court hearings, appeal against court judgments under the appellate and/or cassation procedure;
- it is necessary to collect evidence, call and obtain documents by sending attorney requests;
- in view of the circumstances, it is critical to you that the confidentiality is strictly kept and you are assured that no information relating to the legal services hired by you will be disclosed;
- you are looking for an experienced law expert and ready to spend relatively more money to obtain services of high quality and thus to minimize your risks and be sure of the outcome to a greater extent.
Mostly, it will suffice if you make use of legal services. Making this choice, you should be guided by the price, scope of the lawyer's engagement and its quality.
Differences in the profession and status of an attorney-at-law and a lawyer
Who is a lawyer?
A lawyer is a professional who practices law as an expert in legal sciences, has a law degree (either bachelor or master), is proficient in a large number of laws and their application in each specific case.
Who is an attorney-at-law?
An attorney-at-law is law expert who has a special legal status covering every aspect a lawyer usually enjoys, but an additional legal qualification enabling an attorney-at-law to fulfill his or her professional legal functions as a matter of law.
Since the legal service business is quite extensive, one should know well the differences between these professionals and their responsibilities to understand who of them should be contacted in a specific legal situation. Let us focus in more detail on distinctions in the functions and statuses of these specialists:
Education and career
A lawyer may not be an attorney-at-law, but an attorney-at-law must be a lawyer all the same
. Put simply though, this explains that a lawyer may have no status of an attorney-at-law because it is merely a law degree that is needed to start practicing law. However, having obtained a law degree, a "young" lawyer has to seize various professional opportunities to pursue his or her career. Thus, a lawyer can subsequently become / work as a legal counsel, notary, investigating officer, judge, public prosecutor, attorney-at-law or hold any other position for which a law degree is a mandatory requirement.
Speaking about an attorney-at-law, one must, in the first place, become a lawyer by obtaining a law degree and then have experience of practicing law for at least two years to be eligible to pass a special exam and, if successful, to take an oath and do an internship with a member of the bar.
Official ID and seal
Usually, legal professionals may need neither the former nor the latter since they may fulfill their direct functions for and on behalf of a firm / company / organization / government institutions that employed them or generally work on order basis under a civil law agreement.
However, in order to act as an attorney-at-law, a specialist must be recorded in a special register of attorneys-at-law, hold respective certificate and official ID containing his or her details (it is mandatory) and, optionally, a seal.
Legislative regulation of the business
There is no special law governing directly the status of a lawyer and his or her professional activities. Therefore, it is general rules of the provision of services that are applicable to such activities.
As opposed to this, there are specific regulations to govern activities of attorneys-at-law, setting out the legal framework of operations and functions of such professional as an attorney-at-law, the legal services to be provided by him or her, etc.
Place of job of these two specialists
A lawyer has the right to work and provide legal services through any organization as its employee or to set up his or her own legal entity.
Instead, an attorney-at-law may act as such only if he or she currently has the status explicitly required under the laws and only in the three forms permitted under the applicable laws (individual practice of law, practicing as a member of attorneys association (law firm) or by establishing his or her own legal office).
Profits outside the scope of the practice of law
Unlike attorneys-at-law, lawyers have the right to choose freely how to earn their fortune and can be absolutely legally engaged in any activities apart from their principal occupation, such as the practice of law. Lawyers of Alva Privacy Kyiv Office stress that they are not limited by any law from doing so.
Attorneys-at-law, however, may not be engaged in any activities inconsistent with those prescribed by the law, so they are not entitled to hold positions with government bodies or courts, to act as notaries, forensic experts, etc.
Professional competence and status
The key difference between a lawyer and an attorney-at-law is that the latter must follow the rules laid down in the special Law of Ukraine on the Bar and Practice of Law.
However, an attorney-at-law is additionally entitled to such professional privileges, guarantees and remedies as:
- drafting and sending attorney requests;
- strict confidential treatment and attorney-client privilege afforded to communications with the client;
- protection from being interrogated by a court or investigative bodies as a witness with respect to the information received from the client and contents of conversations with the client;
- authority to act before courts as a defender in criminal proceedings and proceedings over administrative offenses, which authorization is set out in the relevant rules of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, etc.
We hope you now have a sufficient understanding of the difference between the services of an attorney-at-law and a lawyer and the distinctions between the profession of a lawyer and the status of an attorney-at-law in Ukraine.
