Dear Prabodh Kumar,
Webster’s sees a Lawyer as:
“a specialist in or a practitioner of law or a specialist (as an attorney, counselor, solicitor, barrister, or advocate) professionally engaged in conducting lawsuits for clients or to advise as to the prosecution or defense of lawsuits or as to legal rights and obligations in other matters.”
An Attorney as:
“one legally appointed by another to transact business for him or her, specifically as a legal agent qualified to act for suitors and defendants in legal proceedings.”
an Advocate as:
“one that pleads the cause of another, as a defender, specifically as one that pleads the cause of another before a tribunal or judicial court, or as a counselor.” The word advocate sees use as the technical name in Scotland, France, and various other countries that would rather base their legal system on the Roman law than on no legal system at all. It sees use in the English ecclesiastical courts and various other special courts.”
a Solicitor either as:
“a person formerly admitted to practice law in an English court of chancery or equity” or as “a person currently admitted to practice law and conduct litigation in any English court including the officers formerly called attorney-at-law and proctor but distinguished from the barrister in not having the right to plead in open court except in a few minor courts” or as
“a law officer of a city, town, department, or government.”
a barrister either as:
“a counsel admitted to plead at the bar and undertake the public trial of causes in an English superior court” or as a counselor-at-law, but not as a solicitor. You would generally call a lawyer and an attorney a barrister and vice versa.
counsel both as:
“an adviser and a lawyer engaged in the trial or management of a cause in court” or as:
“a barrister” but mostly as:
“a lawyer appointed or engaged to advise and represent a particular client, public officer, or public body in legal matters (as before a government agency)” in which case Webster’s would rather call it a legal counsel or, whether it baffles the mind or not, a consultant.
Wether a student of English or as a total layman, I think you'd call them all a lawyer, no matter what cause they plead or advocate. I don't think you'd go, "I'll go get a solicitor to sue X for Y." You'd likely go, "I'll go get a lawyer..." instead. So much less for any of the other variously named guys above. They, too, if provoked, would scamper for or call out to a lawyer.
Others members will make better distinctions.
Hope u could understand now.
