Practicing in London

Before one indulges into seeking admission to practice law within the United

Kingdom the question arises as to practice law as what? Barrister, Solicitor, or Legal Executive? The UK unlike many other jurisdictions has a more flexible approach in allowing suitably and legally qualified staff to practice law. Certainly, within the UK there is no such thing as the ‘Unauthorized

Practice of Law’ (UPL), as there is in the USA.

Within the United Kingdom, even a Paralegal is permitted to practice law, as long as he or she does not violate or break the law (i.e. The Solicitors Act 1974, s20-23), this being as the relevant statue that expressly permits matters affecting property and preparation of certain legal documents, which can only be carried out by a Solicitor (by an Officer of the Supreme Court of England and Wales, and one that is admitted as a Solicitor in accordance with The Solicitors Act 1974, s1-7). There only a few statues within United Kingdom, which expressly make provisions and reserves matters that only a Barrister or Solicitor, can carry out.

With this in mind, the Barristers’ profession and Solicitors’ profession are governed, monitored and regulated by their own respective professional bodies, the ‘Bar Council’ for Barristers (headquarters which are based in London, Cursitor Street: https://www.barcouncil.org.uk) and ‘The Law Society of England and Wales’ (headquarters which are based in London, Chancery Lane: https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/) for Solicitors. In addition to this, The Institute of Legal Executives, being the professional body that represents

specialized lawyers (is based in Kempton Manor, Bedford: https://www.ilex.org.uk/).

All these professional bodies have provisions for foreign lawyers or law graduates to be eligible to practice law within the UK. However, with this provision also comes the necessary legal academic requirement of

each professional body. For those who are engaged in international law, this certainly is an opportunity to add prestige to their firm or individual character being qualified within another jurisdiction.

Strange as it may seem, for those who want to qualify as a Solicitor, there is no requirement per se, that you be engaged in the practice of English Law (i.e. if you were applying for admission as an Attorney-at-Law from the USA to the UK). If this does not strike your fancy, the Bar Council also takes the view, that if the potential candidate has sufficient legal education within English law, but yet in another jurisdiction, they can claim exemptions on all five heads of the ‘Aptitude Test’ (AT), which is the qualifying transfer test to become a Barrister in the UK

i hope  mr. manishsingti 's quote is  more sufficient to  miss kalpana.

Dear Madam,

Lawyers from India can enrol as a solicitor after they pass the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test (QLTT) . Qualified Indian lawyers generally have to clear just one head of the test, namely Professional Conduct and Accounts. It is a three-hour written examination, for which, lawyers must apply for a “certificate of eligibility” from the Law Society of England and Wales. A two-year practice is also required before an Indian lawyer can qualify as a solicitor. However, this requirement can be satisfied by a suitable period of practice in India, so there is no need for an Indian lawyer to take time out of his own practice to come to England. The Law Society determines on a case-by-case basis whether the practical experience obtained by a lawyer in India is sufficient to satisfy this practice condition. The Law Society for England and Wales has information on qualifying from overseas on their website.

Advocate Shree is absilutely right,

 shree has given the complete information

thanks to shree manish.

can u plz explain the procedure for becoming a Barrister? am just enrolled in bar council of Tamil nadu......

dear sir i have practice as  lawyer since 5 yrs . i want to do job at london as solicitor. give me the brief idea about qltt and training contract.  its necessary to do 2 yrs training over there? qltt require before training or not? can i get training visa?

hello sir, i am an indian citizen n i want to find out that after becoming a barrister in uk , can i enrol myself as an indian lawyer and also wanted to find out that can i enrol myself in the state bar council  after getting a degree of 3 years undergrduate from uk

does indian qualified lawyer can also enrol as a barrister in uk? which is better option between barrister and solicitor?