The legal profession in England and Wales is made up of two separate and distinct groups, i.e., barristers and solicitors. Each have a distinct and defined roll. The barrister is a lawyer who has been admitted to "plead at the bar." That means that he or she has been called to the bar by the "benchers" of one of the four Inns of Court (Middle Temple, Inner Temple, Gray’s Inn and Lincoln's Inn) and is allowed to appear in court to argue a client's case. After graduation from university law school (e.g., Oxford, Cambridge, etc.,) the prospective barrister must attend the Inns of Court Law School, and pass the "bar final" exams, thus qualifying him or her to be taken on by a practicing barrister for a one-year pupillage.

Mr. Carrow's attendance at the Inns of Court Law School was waived by the Senate of the Inns of Court, although he was required to, and did, take and pass the bar finals.

A pupillage is similar to an internship in the medical profession and allows the new barrister to observe and assist his "pupil master" in action and, hopefully, learn from the experience. The requirements for admission to the Inns of Court Law School are strict. In recent years graduates have found it difficult to secure a pupillage position upon graduation, and have experienced even more difficulty in obtaining a position in "chambers", discussed below, upon completion of pupillage.

The barrister is a "courtroom lawyer" who practices out of an office referred to as a "chambers." Although a number of barristers may make up any particular "set" of chambers (the chambers to which Mr. Carrow belongs includes 26), they are prohibited from incorporating or joining together as partners, and each acts as a sole practitioner. Anyone who has viewed "Rumpole of the Bailey" on the Public Broadcasting System, or has read any of the Rumpole books authored by John Mortimer Q.C., has received an excellent overview of how a barristers' chambers operates. The barrister is easily identifiable by his or her working garb, which include robe and wig.

A solicitor, on the other hand, is a lawyer who, after having served under the supervision of a practicing solicitor for two years, and satisfied other demands of the Law Society, including educational requirements, is admitted to practice by the Master of the Rolls. Solicitors have limited rights to practice before the courts ("rights of access"), but traditionally "instruct" a barrister to appear in court for them. The instructions provide the barrister with necessary information and documents, and outline the tasks which the solicitor wishes the barrister to perform. Following tradition, the instructions and related papers are tied with a colored ribbon, referred to as a "brief" which, in turn, is delivered to the barrister. After review of the instructions, conference(s) with the instructing solicitor and his or her client, and any required legal research, the barrister argues the matter at issue in court. The solicitors' rights of access to the courts have been expanded of late but, generally, a solicitor is considered an "office lawyer" whereas the barrister, who provides opinions to solicitors on difficult points of law, also appears in court.

There are, 8,935 barristers admitted to practice before the bar of England and Wales (as of October 1996) and 68,037 practicing solicitors (July 1996), a total of 76,972 lawyers. In comparison, on February 28, 1997, there were 122,428 lawyers admitted to the active practice of law in California, the population of which is approximately 40% of that of England and Wales.

There are many variations on the above themes. This discussion will be modified on a regular basis to discuss those variations and differences between the substantive and procedural law of the two countries. We will also address other significant recent changes in the practice of law in Britain.