The professions of Advocates, Legal Consultants, Legal Advisors and Legal Counsels are a line of professions that are often the target of law graduates since studying at the law faculty. However, not all law faculty students or prospective legal professionals understand the differences well. Especially for the common people, who often misunderstand the scope of work of these professions. Therefore, in this article we will explain the scope of duties and differences in the professions of advocates, legal consultants, legal advisors and attorneys.
Advocate Profession
Advocate is the main legal basis of the advocate profession. Advocate profession is another term for lawyer. The term advocate is a term officially used by law, where in article 1 of the advocate law it is stated that:
Advocates are people whose profession is to provide legal services, both inside and outside the court who meet the requirements based on the provisions of this Law. Therefore, based on this understanding, it is very clear that this profession is a term to describe the type of work that provides legal services, both inside and outside the court. The legal services in question are providing legal consultation, legal assistance, exercising power, representing, assisting, defending, and taking other legal actions for the client’s legal interests. As for becoming an advocate, one must be appointed by an advocate organization and be sworn in at the High Court, whose jurisdiction includes the domicile of the prospective advocate after the prospective advocate fulfills the requirements stipulated by law.
Thus, the law on advocates does not differentiate between the professions of a lawyer, legal consultant, legal adviser and attorney. The latter three professions are part of the advocate or lawyer profession. Even so, practically these professions have different functions and scope of work.
Law Consultant
Legal consultants in English are called counselor at law or legal consultants, namely people who provide legal services in the form of consultations related to various matters related to law. This profession is not specifically mentioned in the advocate law because it is part of the scope of an advocate’s work. However, to become a legal consultant does not require conditions such as an advocate. As long as they have legal expertise and legal education background and gain the trust of clients, this profession can be carried out.
Attorney
A lawyer is a person who is authorized by the client to represent the client’s legal interests both inside and outside the court. A legal attorney must have an advocate license and meet the requirements stipulated by law considering that the scope of work includes representing or proceeding in court, where an advocate’s license and an advocate’s oath are absolutely required. Legal attorney is a term that only applies to cases other than criminal cases.