A solicitor provides specialist legal advice on contentious and non-contentious work to their clients on a variety of areas of law. Put very simply, barristers tend to practise as advocates representing clients in court, whereas solicitors tend to perform the majority of their legal work in a law firm or office setting.

Put simply (too simply, in fact), barristers represent clients in court through effective public speaking and advocacy skills, while solicitors work behind the scenes, interacting directly with their client and other solicitors representing that client.