Types of Lawyers in Australia and their Roles

• Lawyers in Australia are usually either solicitors or barristers (or members of the judiciary who usually started their legal career as a solicitor or barrister).
• In Western Australian in particular, a lawyer is sometimes called a solicitor & barrister however some lawyers in WA choose to practice as either a solicitor or barrister.
• Most people needing legal help start by speaking to a solicitor in private practice who will represent them. That is why our easy search above only searches on solicitors in private practice. If you want to find a different type of lawyer including a barrister or a legal aid lawyer, please use our Advanced Lawyer Search.
• If a legal matter involves complex issues of law or requires a court trial or tribunal hearing, a solicitor and client sometimes choose a suitable barrister in private practice to provide specialist advice or to represent the client in the court or tribunal.
• Barristers in private practice can also take instructions from clients directly (without a solicitor being involved) in most states and territories although barristers are still usually instructed by a solicitor.
• Where you have both a solicitor and barrister working as a team on your case, the solicitor will have certain defined responsibilities (eg. gathering and presenting the evidence) and the barrister will do other parts of the work (eg. reviewing the evidencing and advocating in court).
• Some solicitors and barristers are in ‘general practice’ where they will take instructions from clients in a wide range of types of cases. Other solicitors and barristers specialise and usually practice in only a narrow set of types of cases.
• Some solicitors or barristers have additional skills or accreditations, including to act as a Notary Public, Mediator, Arbitrator, Collaborative Professional or a Locum. Some solicitors are also given specialist accreditation in one or more areas of law by their state or territory law society. To obtain this accreditation, the solicitor must have focussed on that area for a period of years and undertake ongoing education in the area to remain up to date.
• Legal Aid Officers are generally solicitors who work for a legal aid department.
• A ‘Solicitor (CLC)’ works for a Community Legal Centre.
• Solicitor ‘Associates’ and ‘Senior Associates’ are usually solicitors employed by a law firm.
• Solicitor Principals, Partners and Directors are usually solicitors who own or manage a law firm.
• Government Legal Officers and Local Government lawyers are employed at different levels and by different sections of governments to provide advice and represent the government they work for.
• A ‘Solicitor (Special Counsel)’ is usually a senior solicitor who contracts their services to a firm.
• ‘In-House Counsel’ are usually solicitors or barristers who work for a private organisation – most often a company – looking after its legal needs.
• A locum is usually a solicitor who works in the place of a sole practitioner or for a solicitor firm when a solicitor is on leave.
• While lawyers may be reluctant to publish their standard fees, if you ask directly they will usually provide them and are required to do so before being engaged.
• ‘Attorney’ is most commonly used in America as an alternative to ‘lawyer’. It is generally not used in Australia to describe a lawyer; solicitor or barrister are used instead.