In the English legal system, the solicitors have usually dealt with any legal matter apart from conducting proceedings in courts, except for some minor cases. The other branch of the English legal profession, a barrister, has traditionally carried out the encouragement functions. This has now altered, as ‘solicitor advocates’ may act at certain higher levels of court which were previously banned to them. Quite a lot of countries that originally had two or more legal professions have now fused or united their professions into a single type of lawyer. A lawyer is more often than not permitted to carry out all or practically all farm duties listed below: Oral argument in the courts – usually it is the responsibility of a barrister to quarrel a client's case before a judge or the jury in a court of law in the England. On the other hand, the boundary between barristers and solicitors has progressed. Today the barrister covers only appellate courts, and he may challenge directly with solicitors in a lot of trial courts. In countries that have a fused legal profession, like the United States, there are trial lawyers who specialize in trying cases in court, but trial lawyers do not have a monopoly like the barristers. Advocacy (oral and written) in administrative hearings - In most urbanized countries, the legislature has granted original jurisdiction over highly technical matters to management branch administrative agencies which supervise such things. As a result, some lawyers have become specialists in administrative law. In the United States, the lawyers have been efficiently barred by statute from certain types of administrative hearings in order to preserve their informality. Client intake and analysis (with regard to awaiting litigation) - In England, only the solicitors were conventionally in direct contact with the customer. A lawyer may or may not have direct contact with the client. Legal advice (with regard to all authorized matters) - Legal advice is the submission of abstract principles of law to the solid facts of the customers case in order to advise the client about what they ought to do next. In many countries, only a licensed lawyer is permitted to provide legal advice to customers. In some other places, jurists who hold law degrees are allowed to give legal advice to individuals or to corporations, and holding a license isn’t a pre state. Protecting logical property - In almost all countries, patents, trademarks, industrial designs and other forms of intellectual property must be officially registered with a government agency in order to receive utmost protection under the law. The partition of such work among lawyers, solicitors or licensed non-lawyer jurists/agents varies very much from one nation to the next. The UK (http://www.solicitor.info/) directory based on top client ratings helps you find the best local solicitor Compare how others have rated good solicitors.