Counsel
Overview
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
matters.
The legal system in England uses the term counsel as an approximate synonym for a barrister-at-law
Barristers in England and Wales
Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. -Origin of the profession:The work of senior legal professionals in England and Wales...
, and may apply it to mean either a single person who plead
Pleading
In law as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement filed with a court by parties in a civil action, other than a motion...
s a cause, or collectively, the body of barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
s engaged in a case
Legal case
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal...
. It seems uncertain as to whether the term also applies to a solicitor advocate
Solicitor Advocate
Solicitor advocate is the title used by a solicitor who is qualified to represent clients as an advocate in the higher courts in England and Wales or in Scotland.-Origin:...
. Some judges and lawyers apply the term interchangeably between both barristers and solicitor advocates.
The difference between "Barrister" and "Counsel" is subtle.
Quotations
I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching.
William Shakespeare
The best receipt—best to work and best to take—is the admonition of a friend.
Bacon
Consult your friend on all things, especially on those which respect yourself. His counsel may then be useful, where your own self-love might impair your judgment.
Seneca
Let no man value at little price a virtuous woman's counsel.
George Chapman
Category:Discourse