Lawyer and Advocate are generally used as synonyms. But there is a definite difference between them. Attorney, solicitors, and advocates all fall under the category of lawyers. Some of the main differences between them are:

Lawyer

The word lawyer is a very famous word. A person who is still doing law or LLB is called a lawyer. She/he is not meant to stand in court on behalf of their clients, but they can provide legal advice. As seen, advocates can publicly support or recommend policy or a private cause, it cannot do so because it is following the law.

Their main duty is to provide legal advice and fight the case. The change in duties varies depending on the type of them. A law student can be called a lawyer. In basic terms, one mentions these to a person who has a law degree. There are many types of these.

They are attorneys, solicitors, and advocates, etc. Each of them is specialized in different fields. In the United Kingdom and other common nations, the term lawyer is used.

The Oxford Dictionary defines a lawyer as one of the following, some of which are as follows:

• A person studying and practicing law, especially (in the UK) a solicitor or a barrister or (in the US) an Attorney.
• Anyone with a law degree
• Do you sue
• Give legal advice

Advocate

Advocates use the term for counsel only. An advocate is a type of lawyer. Here he/she has completed his law degree. An advocate can stand in court on behalf of his clients. An advocate may also publicly endorse or recommend policy or a private cause.

It is the main duty of an advocate to present and represent his client in court.  They can speak on behalf of their client and also plead their case. In each country, an advocate is called by many names. In Scottish, advocates are called barristers and in the UK they are called solicitors. And also, the term solicitor is used in the USA.

The Oxford Dictionary defines an advocate in many ways, some of which are as follows:

• A person who publicly recommends and endorses a specific cause or policy
• A person who files a case on behalf of someone else
• Professional lawyer in a court. As barristers in Scottish and South African
• Representing the client in court
• Speaking as your customer
• Fighting their case

So it is concluded that an advocate can be a lawyer but a lawyer cannot be an advocate. It is that an advocate has more status than a lawyer and an advocate is one ‘step ahead’.

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