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Solicitor
A type of lawyer in commonwealth countries such as England, Ireland, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. There has traditionally been a difference between a solicitor, who represents and legally advises defendants, and a barrister, who is admitted to plead a case before a higher court. The solicitor can advise a barrister, but is not allowed to try a case before a higher court, and is usually called an “office lawyer.” In England, this changed with the Courts and Legal Service Act of 1990, which allowed solicitors to appear, in some instances, in higher courts. The solicitor is also used as a judge to make a legal decision in certain jurisdictions.