March 25, 2009

Lawyers are one step down from politicians?

I was talking to my wife yesterday when she said why does people use the word 'advocate' when they are not talking about a lawyer. Isn't advocate means lawyer? How about solicitor? Aren't lawyers in Malaysia called Advocates & Solicitors. In other countries, lawyers are known as barristers and attorney-at-law. The most well known is lawyer. What are actually their function?

As I have mentioned before a few times, lawyers are actually agents. They represent other people in court, in negotiation, in meetings and in most places that they are allowed to. They are supposed to be well versed in law and understand on all procedures where even to talk you have to ask permission. Lawyers are like those people you see in Parliament where people in their constituents have elected them to represent them there. That is the extreme of lawyering. 

I am saying that a Member of Parliament or a People's Representative in Parliament or in the Senate is the same as lawyers. The only different is that those people are elected but lawyers are hired to do their job. Lawyers are private representative but those MP and senators are in public office. We are accountable for any negligence that happen to our client if we did not do our best as much as the MPs and senators.

We may look confident and assuming with our jackets and ties under the hot sun carrying our briefcase looking all important but without clients we are nothing. Same like those MPs. But at least lawyers know who butter the breads but those MPs or senators? Hmmm....

1 comment:

Rick (Ratty) said...

A senator has so many different people they have to represent. Maybe it's not always clear what the people want from them. Sometimes even one person makes it difficult for a lawyer, so how would it be trying to guess what thousands want? Both jobs must be very difficult.

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