Lawyer competence and professionalism

In England and Wales, a person will be admitted either as a barrister or a solicitor. The barrister is granted the rights of audience in open court to plead the case on behalf of their clients. Barristers usually specialise in particular areas of law, and they typically deal with clients through a solicitor in that they are hired by solicitors to represent a case in court. Solicitors, on the other hand, seldom represent clients in open court to argue cases on behalf of clients unless the matter in dispute is not complicated, and if they do appear in courts, mostly in the lower courts. Mostly, solicitors handle legal work outside court like drawing up wills, conveyancing, drafting contracts, and other general advisory work. As noted earlier, often the solicitors instruct barristers or specialist advocates to appear in court on behalf of their clients. Be that as it may, members of the legal profession are expected to have the requisite knowledge and skill in the field of law. By agreeing with the client to take up the matter, the lawyer has represented to the client that he has a special level of expertise in the matter undertaken by him. Having said the above, this chapter discusses counsel’s competency and professionalism and the consequences for failure to maintain the requisite level of competence in handling the legal matter.