(Redirected from Advocates)
An 'advocate' is one who speaks on behalf of another, especially in a legal context. It is used particularly in reference to the system of
Scots law,
Anglo-Dutch law and
Israeli law. Implicit in the concept is the notion that the represented lacks the knowledge, skill, ability, or standing to speak for themselves. The broad equivalent in many
English law-based jurisdictions is "
barrister".
Scotland
'Advocates', members of the
Faculty of Advocates, are
counsel who are licensed to present cases in the supreme courts of
Scotland: the
Court of Session and
High Court of Justiciary. Advocates wear wigs, white bow-ties, and gowns as dress in court.
Faculty of Advocates
Main articles: Faculty of Advocates
Advocates are regulated by the
Faculty of Advocates in
Edinburgh. The Faculty of Advocates has about 750 members, of whom about 460 are in private practice. About 75 are
Queen's Counsel. The Faculty is headed by the
Dean of the Faculty who, along with the Vice-Dean,
Treasurer,
Clerk are elected annually by
secret ballot.
The Faculty has a service company, Faculty Services Ltd, to which almost all advocates belong and which organises the stables and fee collection. This gives a guarantee to all newly-called advocates of a place. There is an agreement with the
Law Society of Scotland, which is the professional body for Scottish
solicitors, about the payment of fees, as traditionally advocates were not permitted to
sue for their fees because these were
honoraria.
Independent working
Advocates do not operate in chambers; they are entirely independent, although organised in eleven 'stables' for administrative purposes, and work out of the
Advocates Library in
Parliament House where the
Court of Session is situated, in a similar way to barristers in the
Republic of Ireland and
Northern Ireland. The
High Court of Justiciary, where advocates plead criminal cases, is situated across the
Royal Mile from Parliament House. They do not act directly for members of the public, taking instructions from a solicitor, a non-Scottish lawyer, or certain categories of professional given this ability by legislation - most notably accountants and trade union officials.
Becoming an advocate
The process of becoming an advocate is referred to as ''
devilling''. All Intrants will hold an LL.B. (
Bachelor of Laws) and the
Diploma in Legal Practice qualifying them as solicitors or be members of the
Bar in another
common law jurisdiction.
Devilling
Devilling, as the period of
pupillage or training to become an advocate is generally known, lasts between eight and nine months, and comprises a mix of skills training courses and time spent working with a
devilmaster. The compulsory skills training courses, are spread across the devilling period and last for about ten weeks in total. For the balance of the period of devilling, devils work closely with their devilmasters.
All devils have a principal devilmaster who is a practising member of the junior bar of at least seven years standing, and working primarily in
civil practice. Devils will also spend part of the time with another devilmaster practising in the
criminal courts, and many devils spend a short period of time with a third devilmaster working in a different aspect of civil work from his or her principal devilmaster. All devils and devilmasters are issued with the current edition of the Faculty's Devil's Handbook.
In order to take a devil, a devilmaster must be approved by the Dean of Faculty. The Clerk of Faculty maintains a list of approved devilmasters, who may be contacted by email or via the Clerk's office.
Devils are expected to attend court with their devilmasters, and to attend consultations with solicitors instructing their devilmaster and with the solicitors' clients. A devil will also discuss the preparation and presentation of the cases in which their devilmaster is involved and will be required to draft written pleadings and opinions.
During the period of devilling, devils also carry out work for the Free Representation Unit. This is part of the Faculty's commitment to providing access to justice for everyone. The Free Representation Unit enables devils to provide advice and representation to clients of Citizens Advice Bureau from across Scotland.
Admission to the Faculty of Advocates
At the end of the devilling period, a devil's admission to the Faculty is dependent on certification by his or her principal devilmaster that the devil is a fit and proper person to be an advocate, and that the devil has been involved in a wide range of work in the course of his or her devilling. A devil's competence in a number of aspects of written and oral advocacy is assessed during devilling, and if a devil is assessed as not to be competent, he or she will not be admitted to the Faculty. Further details of this process can be found in the assessment section.
Recent developments
In recent years, more advocates have come to the Scottish Bar after some time as solicitors, but it is possible to qualify with a law degree, after a year's traineeship in a solicitor's office and almost a year as a 'devil', or apprentice advocate. There are exceptions for lawyers who are qualified in other European jurisdictions, but all must take the training course as devils.
Every year, a number of young European lawyers have a placement with advocates under the
European Young Lawyers Scheme organised by the
British Council. They are known as 'Eurodevils' in distinction to the Scottish 'devils'.
Professional development
Since the Faculty began to offer skills training to devils and members in
1994, the programme, particularly for devils has developed extensively and continues to evolve, and is now recognised as one of the best in the world. Members of Faculty have regularly travelled to the
United States,
Australia,
South Africa,
England and
Ireland to take part in advocacy training events, while the Faculty has welcomed leading advocacy instructors from those countries to
Scotland.
Every member admitted to the Faculty since
1995 has undertaken some form of skills training. In addition periodic skills workshops are arranged for practising members, so that the majority of the practising
bar has now undertaken skills training. The Faculty's training programme is built on the experience and commitment of practising members who have been trained as skills instructors, both in Scotland and in other places. Over the life of the programme so far more than 60 members have been trained as instructors, and they give freely of their time and experience to train new generations of advocates.
Lawyers in other EU states (but not England and Wales) may have limited rights of audience in the Scottish supreme courts if they appear with an advocate, and a few solicitors known as 'solicitor-advocates' have rights of audience, but for practical purposes advocates have almost exclusive rights of audience.
Some well-known advocates
Some well known Scottish advocates are
John Balfour,
Alexander Boswell,
James Boswell,
David Dalrymple,
Henry Home and
Alexander Wedderburn.
Advocates in the Channel Islands
Advocates, properly called Advocates of the Royal Court, are the only lawyers with rights of audience in the
Channel Islands. To become an advocate, one has to possess a valid law degree or diploma, plus a qualification as an English
barrister or
solicitor, or a French
avocat. They must then study for the Guernsey or Jersey Bar. In Guernsey, three months of study of
Norman law at the
Université de Caen is required; this is no longer the case in Jersey. Guernsey Advocates dress in the same way as barristers, but substitute a black
biretta-like
toque for a wig, while those in Jersey go bare-headed. Advocates are entitled to prefix their names with 'Advocate'; e.g. Mr Tostevin is called to the Guernsey Bar and is henceforth known as Advocate Tostevin.
Advocates in England and Wales
In
England and
Wales Advocates were counsel in the
ecclesiastical courts.
See also
★
Advocatus
★
Barrister
★
Lawspeaker
★
Lexist
★
Ombudsman
★
Solicitor
★
Solicitor-Advocate
External links
★
The Faculty of Advocates official website
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