David Burrows bangs the drum for solicitor Advocates
Why would a solicitor want to be an advocate, when there are so many barristers seeking work; and so many, it might be thought, better advocates than the solicitor who instructs them? I speak as a family lawyer, who started off as a generic litigation lawyer. I did my bit in the magistrates' courts—crime, domestic and juvenile courts; I appeared in the county courts and, in wardship days especially, had my thrice-yearly appearances in the Family Division in the 1980s.
And much more often than not, the other advocates were barristers. Why? Is that what the client wants? Twenty-five years ago, yes perhaps they did. “She's got a barrister, why haven't I got one?” was the comment. Now it is the opposite. On the rare occasions I have to retain counsel—I'm double-courted, once I was having an operation (the client reported me for that to the Solicitors Regulation Authority)—the client can become quite upset when they can't have their solicitor. And, if offered the choice the answer from most clients is: “You know the file,
