barrister

UK/ˈbæɹ.ɪst.ə(ɹ)/

nounB2+Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,054 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: barristers

A barrister is a lawyer who argues cases in the higher courts. Brief a barrister, a criminal barrister, the barrister for the defence.

England and a few other countries split the profession: a solicitor advises the client and prepares the case, and a barrister argues it in court, wearing a wig and gown. The United States has no such split — an attorney does both jobs.

Definitions of barrister

1nounbarristerA lawyer who argues cases in the higher courts.B2+
“The barrister stood up in court and questioned the witness.”

barrister is a lawyer.

Where it comes from

From bar, the rail dividing a courtroom, plus -ster. To be called to the bar is to be admitted to practise.

From bar (a collective term for lawyers or the legal profession) and the suffix -ster.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Crime & Law

Practise this word

barrister in the wild

In England and Wales barristers may seek authorisation from the Bar Standards Board to conduct litigation, allowing a barrister to practise in a dual capacity.
Barrister
In others, such as the United States, the distinction between barristers and attorneys-at-law does not exist at all.
Barrister
The call to the bar is the process by which a person is admitted to practise as a barrister in many common-law jurisdictions.
Call to the bar
The benchers of King's Inns award the degree of barrister-at-law (BL) necessary to qualify as a barrister and be called to the bar in Ireland.
King's Inns
Strict rules are in place about what a barrister must do for the court, their client and how they must behave.
Barristers in England and Wales

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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