Editing Advocate (section)

===United Kingdom and Crown dependencies===

====England and Wales====
In [[England and Wales]], Advocates and [[proctor]]s practiced [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]] in the Admiralty Courts and also, but in England only, in the [[ecclesiastical courts]] of the [[Church of England]], in a similar way to barristers, attorneys and solicitors in the common law and equity courts.

Advocates, who formed the senior branch of the legal profession in their field, were Doctors of Law of the [[University of Oxford]], [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], or [[Trinity College Dublin|Dublin]] and [[Fellow]]s of the Society of [[Doctors' Commons]].

Advocates lost their exclusive rights of audience in [[probate]] and divorce cases when [[the Crown]] took these matters over from the church in 1857, and in Admiralty cases in 1859. The Society of Advocates was never formally wound up, but its building was sold off in 1865 and the last advocate died in 1912.

Barristers were admitted to the [[Court of Arches]] of the [[Church of England]] in 1867. More recently, [[Solicitor Advocate]]s have also been allowed to play this role.

====Scotland{{anchor|Advocate (Scotland)}}====

=====Faculty of Advocates=====
[[File:Quentin Massys 007.jpg|thumb|A 16th-century advocate]]
{{Scots law}}
{{main|Faculty of Advocates}}

Advocates are regulated by the [[Faculty of Advocates]] in [[Edinburgh]]. The Faculty of Advocates has about 750 members, of whom about 460 are in private practice. About 75 are [[King's Counsel]]. The Faculty is headed by the [[Dean (education)|Dean]] of the Faculty who, along with the Vice-Dean, [[Treasurer]], and [[court clerk|Clerk]] are elected annually by [[secret ballot]].
	 
The Faculty has a service company, Faculty Services Ltd, to which almost all Advocates belong, which organized the '''stables''' (sets of Advocates or barristers' chambers<ref>{{cite web |title=Stables overview |url=https://www.legal500.com/c/scottish-bar/stables-overview/ |website=legal500.com |access-date=2 May 2020}}</ref>) and fee collection. This gives a guarantee to all newly called Advocates of a place. Until the end of 2007, there was an agreement with the [[Law Society of Scotland]], which is the professional body for Scottish solicitors, as to the payment of fees, but this has now been replaced by the Law Society. It remains the case that Advocates are not permitted to [[lawsuit|sue]] for their fees, as they have no contractual relationship with their instructing solicitor or with the client.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.privy-council.org.uk/files/other/husbands-final.rtf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2008-01-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010141208/http://www.privy-council.org.uk/files/other/husbands-final.rtf |archive-date=2007-10-10 }}</ref> Their fees are [[honorarium|honoraria]].

Advocates wear wigs, white bow-ties (or falls in the case of senior counsel), straps and gowns as a dress in court.

=====Becoming an advocate=====
The process of becoming an advocate is referred to as [[devilling]]. All [[wikt:intrant|intrants]] will be Scottish solicitors, i.e. hold a [[Bachelor of Laws]] degree and the [[Diploma in Legal Practice]], and must have completed the traineeships of two years (which in some cases may be reduced to eighteen months) required to qualify as a solicitor; or else will be members of the [[bar association|bar]] in another [[common law]] jurisdiction.

======Admission to the Faculty of Advocates======

At the end of the devilling period, a devil's admission to the Faculty is dependent on certification by the principal devil master that the devil is a fit and proper person to be an advocate and that the devil has been involved in a wide range of work in the course of devilling. A devil's competence in a number of aspects of written and oral advocacy is assessed during devilling, and a devil will not be admitted to the Faculty if assessed as not competent. Further details of this process can be found in the assessment section.

======Recent developments======

In recent years, increasing numbers of Advocates have come to the Scottish Bar after some time as solicitors, but it is possible to qualify with a law degree, after twenty-one months traineeship in a solicitor's office and almost a year as a 'devil', or apprentice advocate. There are exceptions for lawyers who are qualified in other European jurisdictions, but all must take the training course as 'devils'.

Until 2007, a number of young European lawyers were given a placement with Advocates under the [[European Young Lawyers Scheme]] organized by the [[British Council]]. They are known as 'Eurodevils', in distinction to the Scottish 'devils'. This scheme was withdrawn by the British Council. In January 2009, a replacement scheme began.

Lawyers qualified in other European Union states (but not in England and Wales) may have limited rights of audience in the Scottish supreme courts if they appear with an advocate, and a few solicitors known as 'solicitor-Advocates' have rights of audience, but for practical purposes, Advocates have almost exclusive rights of audience in the supreme courts – the [[High Court of Justiciary]] (criminal), and the [[Court of Session]] (civil). Advocates share the right of audience with solicitors in the [[sheriff court]]s and [[justice of the peace court]]s.

It used to be the case that Advocates were completely immune from suit etc. while conducting court cases and pre-trial work, as they had to act 'fearlessly and independently'; the rehearing of actions was considered contrary to [[public interest]]; and Advocates are ''required'' to accept clients, they cannot pick and choose. However, the seven-judge English ruling of ''Arthur J.S. Hall & Co. (a firm) v. Simons'' 2000 (House of Lords)<ref>{{cite web|author=Law Lord's Department |url=http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199900/ldjudgmt/jd000720/hall-1.htm |title=House of Lords - Arthur J.S Hall and Co. v. Simons (A.P.) Barratt v. Ansell and Others (Trading As Woolf Seddon (A Firm) Harris v. Scholfield Roberts and Hill (Conjoined Appeals) |publisher=Parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk |date=20 July 2000 |access-date=11 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829024300/http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199900/ldjudgmt/jd000720/hall-1.htm |archive-date=29 August 2012 }}</ref> declared that none of these reasons justified the immunity strongly enough to sustain it. This has been followed in Scotland in ''Wright v Paton Farrell'' (2006) ''obiter''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2006CSIH7.html |title=TREVOR RUSH McCafferty WRIGHT v. PATON FARRELL+ROBERT PATON+PETER FARRELL, 10 February 2006, Lord President |publisher=Scotcourts.gov.uk |access-date=2013-06-11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903153149/http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2006CSIH7.html |archive-date=3 September 2012 }}</ref> insofar as civil cases are concerned.

====Isle of Man====
Advocates are the only lawyers with rights of audience in the courts of the [[Isle of Man]]. An advocate's role is to advise on all matters of law: it may involve representing a client in the civil and criminal courts or advising a client on matters such as matrimonial and family law, trusts and estates, regulatory matters, property transactions, and commercial and business law. In court, Advocates wear a horsehair wig, stiff collar, bands, and a gown in the same way as barristers do elsewhere.

To become an advocate, it is normally necessary to hold either a [[Legal education in the United Kingdom#England, Wales and Northern Ireland|qualifying law degree]] with no less than lower second class (2:2) honors, or else a degree in another subject with no less than lower second class (2:2) honors complemented by the [[Common Professional Examination]]. It is then necessary to obtain a legal professional qualification such as the [[Bar Professional Training Course]] or the [[Legal Practice Course]]. It is not, however, necessary actually to be admitted as an English [[barrister]] or [[solicitor]] to train as an advocate.

Trainee Advocates (as [[articled clerk]]s are now more usually known) normally undertake a period of two years' training articled to a senior advocate; in the case of English barristers or solicitors who have been practicing or admitted for three years this training, the period is reduced to one year. Foreign lawyers who have been registered as legal practitioners in the Isle of Man for a certain time may also undertake a shorter period of training and supervision. During their training, all trainee Advocates are required to pass the Isle of Man bar examinations, which include papers on civil and criminal practice, constitutional and land law, and company law and taxation, as well as accounts. The examinations are rigorous and candidates are limited to three attempts to pass each paper.

Senior English barristers are occasionally licensed to appear as Advocates in cases expected to be unusually long or complex, without having to pass the bar examination or undertake further training: they are permitted only to act in relation to the matter for which they have been licensed. Similarly, barristers and solicitors employed as public prosecutors may be licensed to appear as Advocates without having to pass the bar examination or undertake further training: they are permitted only to act as such only for the duration of that employment.

The professional conduct of Advocates is regulated by the [[Isle of Man Law Society]], which also maintains a library for its members in [[Douglas, Isle of Man|Douglas]]. While Advocates in the Isle of Man have not traditionally prefixed their names with 'Advocate' in the Channel Islands manner, some Advocates have now started to adopt this practice.

====Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey====
[[Law of Jersey|Jersey]] and the [[Bailiwick of Guernsey]] are two separate legal jurisdictions, have largely two different sets of laws and have two separate, but similar, legal professions. In both jurisdictions, Advocates—properly called Advocates of the Royal Court—are the only lawyers with general rights of audience in their courts.

To be eligible to practice as an advocate in Jersey, it is necessary first to have a law degree from a British university or a [[Graduate Diploma in Law]] and to have qualified as a recognized legal professional in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.<ref>Advocates and Solicitors (Jersey) Law 1997</ref> Thereafter, a candidate must undertake two years of practical experience in a law office dealing with Jersey law, enrol on the Jersey Law Course provided by the Institute of Law, Jersey<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lawinstitute.ac.je/ |title=Home |website=Institute of Law, Jersey |access-date=2013-06-11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130811152018/http://www.lawinstitute.ac.je/ |archive-date=11 August 2013 }}</ref> and pass examinations in six subjects. Alternatively, a person may apply to become a Jersey advocate two years after qualifying as a Jersey solicitor.

To become an advocate in Guernsey, one has to possess a valid law degree or diploma, plus a qualification as an English [[barrister]] or [[solicitor]], or a French [[avocat]]. They must then study for the Guernsey Bar. Three months of study of [[Normans|Norman]] law at the [[Université de Caen]] (University of Caen) is required; this is no longer required for entry into the legal profession in Jersey.

Guernsey Advocates dress in the same way as barristers, but substitute a black [[biretta]]-like [[Toque (French)|toque]] for a wig, while those in Jersey go bare-headed. Advocates are entitled to prefix their names with 'Advocate'; e.g. Mr. Tostevin is called to the Guernsey Bar and is henceforth known as Advocate Tostevin.

The head of the profession of advocate in each bailiwick is called the [[Bâtonnier]].