The current division of work between barristers and solicitors provides the best service because, in client’s cases solicitors have access to expert advice from barristers and from this they can ask the barrister to represent them in court if necessary, but solicitors are also entitled to independent, impartial advice also.
The case consists of 2 legal professionals; this allows more knowledge and various points of views to be contributed to the case overall. Solicitors and barristers have different types of skills, which they are good at individually, and in cases they can concentrate on those skills.
The current division of work also allows the client to see a barrister directly without needing to see a solicitor, this is a positive point because, if the client, just wants someone to represent them in court with no advice about the case, then it will save them time and money just to go an see a barrister rather then going through a solicitor and then being appointed to a barrister.
There are also negative points about the division of work between barristers and solicitors, one being that because there are 2 professionals involved, they may not always agree about each others points which are being contributed about the case.
Clients may not benefit from the current division of work between solicitors and barristers because the price for working with both professionals may cost a great amount of money, whether they win or loose the case. Solicitors do not contribute much to the case itself, but they still charge for the time being spent giving advice to the clients.
Also if the solicitor is the main person working on the case and spending more time with the client then he/she will know every aspect about the case, but barristers maybe briefed just on the day of the court trial, not allowing them to acknowledge every aspect of the case, and due to this, key information may not be passed on. This is a negative point because the barrister will be representing the client, even though he/she does not know everything about the case, and this could leave the client nervous and make them loose confidence because the client has spent more time discussing things with the solicitor rather then talking to the person who will represent them in court.
I think that the current division of work between barristers and solicitors is good for the client, disregarding the money issue, even though it maybe expensive to get both professionals on the case, it maybe worth while as an end result, because you would be able to experience both professional points of view, and also be advised about the case before hand. By having both legal professionals on the case, you may have a better chance of winning the case because they both have individual skills which they are good at along with expert knowledge about different aspects of law.
