初级律师与辩护律师

在爱尔兰的司法体系中存在两种律师，一种是初级律师（solicitor），一种是辩护律师（barrister），二者截然不同，但是其在司法体系中的角色又容易引起混淆。

但是近来，初级律师与辩护律师之间的传统的区分已经开始逐渐模糊，并且，原先对二者作出的限制性规定有些已经取消了。比如，现在已经不限制初级律师在高级法院出庭。另外一个重大的发展是，公众可以在特定情形下直接联系那些符合出庭律师公会要求的初级律师。

最为重要的是，初级律师在一定范围内可以出庭辩护，尽管通常情况下是不允许的。初级律师的工作是与客户打交道，并且在客户与辩护律师之间充当专业的沟通桥梁。辩护律师不直接与客户打交道，而是在法律及法律程序上担当训练有素的专家。在一般的业务中，初级律师如果遇到了不寻常的法律问题，他们经常会就此咨询辩护律师的意见。They are responsible for engaging an appropriate barrister to present the client’s case before a Court. Most of the solicitor’s time is spent in the office planning strategy for the case, preparing briefs for barristers and giving detailed guidelines for barristers to follow.

A barrister on the other hand is a sole practitioner who appears before the Judge and presents the case according to guidance he has received from the solicitor. A barrister does not interact with clients but functions as a highly trained specialist in points of law and legal procedure. When a solicitor in general practice is confronted with an unusual point of law, they sometimes seek the “opinion of counsel” on the issue

最后，初级律师在出庭时的着装也是与辩护律师不同的。通常，辩护律师会戴假发，衣领坚挺，配领带，身穿法袍，而初级律师不需如此着装。