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London. Associations of lawyers acquired houses of their own in which students were educated in the common law, and the degrees of barrister (corresponding to apprentice or See also:

BACHELOR (from Med. Lat. baccalarius, with its late and rare variant baccalaris—cf. Ital. baccalare—through O. Fr. bacheler)

bachelor) and sergeant (corresponding to See also:

DOCTOR (Lat. for " teacher ")

doctor) were conferred. These schools of law are now represented by the Inns of Court (q.v.). Students are admitted as members of the Inns of Court, on paying certain fees and on passing a See also:

general (elementary) examination or (alternatively) producing See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence of having passed a public examination at a university; their subsequent See also:

CALL (from Anglo-Saxon ceallian, a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch kallen, to talk or chatter)

call to the bar depends on their keeping twelve terms (of which there are four in each See also:

YEAR

year), and passing certain further See also:

EXAMINATIONS

examinations (see ENGLISH LAW ad fin.). A term is "kept " by dining six times (three for a student whose name is on the books of a university) in See also:

hall. This is a relic of the older See also:

SYSTEM

system in which examinations were not included, the only requisite being a certificate from a barrister that the student had read for twelve months in his See also:

chambers. Dining in hall then applied a certain social test, which has now become unmeaning. The profession of barrister is open to almost every one; but no See also:

PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person connected with the law in any inferior capacity or who is a chartered or professional accountant, can enter an Inn of Court as a student until he has entirely and See also:

bona fide ceased to See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act or practise in such capacity. Some of the Inns also make a restriction that their members shall not be engaged in See also:

trade.

A See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of See also:

ADMISSION

admission has to be filled up, containing a See also:

DECLARATION (from Lat. declarare, to make fully clear, clams)

declaration to this effect, and mentioning inter alia the See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age, See also:

NATIONALITY

nationality, See also:

CONDITION (Lat. condicio, from condicere, to agree upon, arrange; not connected with conditio, from condere, conditum, to put together)

condition in See also:

LIFE

life and occupation of the applicant. Previous to the student's call this declaration must be repeated, and he must further declare that he is not in See also:

HOLY

holy orders, has not held any clerical preferment and has not performed any clerical- functions during the year preceding. Subject to the above, practising solicitors of not less than five years' See also:

STANDING

standing may be called to the bar without keeping any terms, upon passing the necessary examinations, and, per contra, a barrister of the same standing may, without any See also:

period of See also:

APPRENTICESHIP (from Fr. apprendre, to learn)

apprenticeship, become a See also:

SOLICITOR

solicitor upon passing the final examination for solicitors. Irish barristers of three years' standing may be called to the English bar without passing any examination upon keeping three terms, and so also may barristers of those colonies where the professions of barrister and solicitor are still kept distinct. No one can become a barrister till he is twenty-one years old. The benchers of the- different Inns of Court have the right of rejecting any applicant for membership with or without cause assigned; and for sufficient reasons, subject to an See also:

APPEAL

appeal to the common-law See also:

JUDGES, THE BOOK OF

judges as visitors of the Inns, they may refuse to call a student to the bar, or may expel from their society or from the profession (" dis-bar " or ". dis-See also:

BENCH (an O.E. and Eng. form of a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Bank, Dan. baenk and the Eng. doublet " bank ")

bench ") even barristers or benchers. The benchers appear to take See also:

COGNIZANCE (Lat. cognoscere, to know)

cognizance of any See also:

KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind of misconduct, whether professional or not, which they may deem =worthy of the See also:

RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank of barrister. The grade of barrister comprehends the See also:

ATTORNEY (from O. Fr. atorne, a person appointed to act for another, from atourner, legal Lat. attornare, attorn, literally to turn over to another or commit business to another)

attorney-general and solicitor-general (appointed by and holding See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office solely at the will of the See also:

government of the See also:

day), who rank as the heads of the profession, king's counsel and See also:

ORDINARY (med. Lat. ordinarius, Fr. ordinaire)

ordinary practitioners, sometimes technically known as " utter barristers." The See also:

PECULIAR

peculiar business of barristers is the advocacy of causes in open court, big in:: England a See also:

GREAT

great See also:

DEAL

deal of other business falls into their hands:. They are the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief conveyancers, and the pleadings (i.e.. the See also:

COUNTER

counter statements of parties previous to joining issue) are in all but the simplest cases drafted by them. There was formerly, indeed, a See also:

SEPARATE

separate class of conveyancers and See also:

SPECIAL

special pleaders, being persons who kept the necessary number of terms qualifying for a call but who, instead of being called, took out licences, granted for one year only, but renewable, to practise under the bar, but now See also:

CONVEYANCING

conveyancing and special See also:

PLEADING (Fr. plaider, plaidoyer)

pleading foam See also:

PART

part of the ordinary See also:

WORK

work of a junior barrister. The higher rank among barristers is that of king's or See also:

queen''s counsel.. They See also:

lead in court, and give opinions on cases submittcdto,thetm, but they do not accept conveyancing or pleading, n do, they admit pupils to their chambers.

See also:

PRECEDENCE (from Lat. praecedere, to go before, precede)

Precedence among kung's; counsel, as well as among See also:

OUTER

outer barristers, is determined by. seniority.' The old See also:

order of serjeants-at-law (q.v.) who ranked after • king's counsel, is now See also:

EXTINCT

extinct. Although every barrister has a right to practise in any court in England, each ' A king's counsel is appointed by letters patent to be " one of His See also:

MAJESTY (Fr. majeste; Lat. majestas, grandeur, greatness, from the base mag-, as in magnus, great, major, greater, &c.)

Majesty's counsel learned in the law." The See also:

APPOINTMENT, POWER OF

appointment rests with the See also:

lord See also:

CHANCELLOR (M. Eng. and Anglo-Fr. canceler, chanceler, Fr. chancelier, Lat. cancellarius)

chancellor, to whom the barrister desiring a See also:

SILK

silk See also:

GOWN

gown makes application. There is no definite See also:

time required to elapse between " call "" and application for a seat within the bar, but it is generally understood that a barrister must be of at least ten years' standing before he is appointed a king's counsel. The first king's counsel was See also:

Sir See also:

Francis See also:

Bacon, who was appointed by Queen See also:

Elizabeth " ciueere"s counsel extraordinary," and received a See also:

PAYMENT (Fr. paiement, from payer, to pay; Lat. pacare, to appease, pax, peace)

payment, by way of ' See also:

PLEDGE

pledge and See also:

fee," of £qo a year, payable See also:

HALF

half-yearly. Succeeding king's counsel received a similar payment, until its abolition in 18131. There was not another appointment of a king's counsel until 1668, .when Lord Chancellor Francis See also:

North was so honoured. From 1775 king's counsel may be said to have become a See also:

REGULAR

regular order. Their number was very small so See also:

LATE

late as the middle of the 19th century (vu in 1789; 3o in i8io; 28 in 185o), but at the beginning of the loth century there were over 25o. A king's counsel may not, unless by special See also:

LICENCE (through the French from Lat. licentia, licere, to be lawful)

licence, take a brief against the See also:

CROWN

crown, but such a licence is, never refused unless the crown desires his services in, the See also:

case.special class of business has its own practitioners, so that the bar may almost be said to be divided into several professions. The most marked distinction is that between barristers practising in See also:

CHANCERY

chancery and barristers practising in the courts of common law. The See also:

FUSION

fusion of law and See also:

EQUITY (Lat. aequitas)

equity brought about by the Judicature Acts 1873 and 1875 was expected in course of time to break down this distinction; but to a large extent the separation between these two great branches of the profession remains. There are also subordinate distinctions in each See also:

BRANCH (from the Fr. branche, late Lat. branca, an animal's paw)

branch.

Counsel at common law attach themselves to one or other of the circuits into which England is divided, and may not practise elsewhere unless under special conditions. In chancery the king's counsel for the most part restrict themselves to one or other of the courts of the chancery See also:

DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division. Business before the court of See also:

PROBATE

probate, See also:

DIVORCE

divorce and See also:

ADMIRALTY, HIGH COURT OF

admiralty, the privy See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council and See also:

PARLIAMENTARY

parliamentary committees, exhibits, though in a less degree, the same tendency to specialization. In some of the larger provincial towns there are also See also:

LOCAL

local bars of considerable strength. The bar of Ireland exhibits in its general arrangements the same features as the bar of England. For the Scottish bar, see under See also:

ADVOCATES, FACULTY OF

ADVOCATES, See also:

FACULTY (through the French, from the Lat. facultas, ability to do anything, from facilis, easy, facere, to do; another form of the word in Lat. facilitas, facility, ease, keeps the original meaning)

FACULTY OF. There is no connexion whatever between the Scottish and English bars. A distinctive See also:

DRESS (from the Fr. dresser, to set out, arrange, formed from Lat. directus, arranged, dirigere, to direct, arrange)

dress is worn by barristers when attending the courts, consisting of a stuff gown, exchanged for one of silk (whence the expression " to take silk ") when the wearer has attained the rank of king's counsel, both classes also having wigs dating in See also:

PATTERN

pattern and material from the 18th century. Counsel is not answerable for anything spoken by him relative to the cause in See also:

hand and suggested in the client's instructions, even though it should reflect on the See also:

CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character of another and prove absolutely groundless, but if he mention an untruth of his own invention, or even upon instructions if it be impertinent to the See also:

MATTER

matter in hand, he is then liable to an See also:

ACTION

action from the party injured. Counsel may also be punished by the See also:

SUMMARY

summary See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power of the court or See also:

JUDGE (Lat. judex, Fr. juge)

judge as for a contempt, and by the benchers of the inn to which he may belong on cause shown. The rank of barrister is a necessary qualification for nearly all offices of a judicial character, and a very usual qualification for other important appointments. Not only the judgeships in the superior courts of law and equity in England and in her colonies, but nearly all the magistracies of See also:

minor rank—recorderships, See also:

COUNTY (through Norm. Fr. comae, cf. O. Fr. cunte, conk', Mod. Fr. comae, from Lat. comitatus, cf. Ital. comitato, Prov. comtat; see COUNT)

county court judgeships, &c.—are restricted to the bar.

The result is a unique feature in the English system of See also:

JUSTICE (Lat. justitia)

justice, viz. the perfect See also:

HARMONY (Gr. dpµovia, a concord of musical sounds, dpA'ew to join; &plan midi (sc. TeXvil)

harmony of See also:

OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion and See also:

INTEREST

interest between the bar as a profession and all degrees of the judicial bench. Barristers have the rank of esquires, and are privileged from See also:

ARREST (Fr. arrester, arreeter, to stop or stay)

arrest whilst in attendance on the superior courts and on See also:

CIRCUIT (Lat. circuitus, from circum, round, and ire, to go)

circuit, and also from serving on juries whilst in active practice. Revising Barristers are counsel of not less than seven years' standing appointed to revise the lists of parliamentary voters. Barristers cannot maintain an action for their fees, which are regarded as gratuities, nor can they, by the usage of the profession, undertake a case without the intervention of a solicitor, except in criminal cases, where a barrister may be engaged directly, by having a fee given him in open court, nor is it competent for them to enter into any See also:

contract for payment by their clients with respect to litigation. See J. R. V. Marchant, Barrister-at-law : an See also:

ESSAY, ESSAYIST (Fr. essai, Late Lat. exagium, a weighing or balance; exigere, to examine; the term in general meaning any trial or effort)

Essay on the legal position of Counsel in England (19o5).

End of Article: BARRISTER

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