Although they seem very similar, there are some differences in the way they are trained and in the way they work.

There are around 76000 solicitors and 7000 barristers in England and Wales. Duties of solicitors are very wide and varied. They carry out advocacy and other aspects of legal work, while barristers are concerned only with advocacy before the courts.

There are three ways to be trained as solicitors. The quickest and the most popular (about 64% of solicitors are qualified this way) would be as a law graduate. In brief both solicitors and barristers need to have a law degree at the beginning of training: solicitors then study on the Legal Practise Course, whilst barristers obtain a place on the Vocational Course of the Council of Legal Education .

To a person to qualify as a solicitor, he must first of all study at university for 3 years and pass LLB, which is professional exam for lawyers. A law graduate has to proceed to Legal Practise Course, which lasts for one-full year and gives practical skills for a student to become a solicitor. After that the student should get a trai

In my opinion, it is not very good time to make a fusion. However, some changes should be made more wide, for example solicitors could be granted an audience in higher courts. Also barristers could have right to deal with client directly, without the intermediary of the solicitor.

Many solicitors are employed in industry and local government jobs.

According to Brown in "GCSE Law", barristers may also obtain a place on the Vocational Course with non-law degrees and then they must pass the Common Professional Examination or just pass the Common Professional Examination without any degree , but with distinction. Vocational Training is similar to Legal Practice Course of solicitors and gives practical skills and some more theoretical knowledge. If Vocational Training is finished successfully , the student is "Called to the Bar". But he cannot practice unless he has spent an additional year of pupillage under a barrister of five years' standing(a 'pupil master'). Pupillage is a form of practical training under a guidance of experienced barrister. Only after six months is he allowed to present minor cases on his own in court. Besides conducting a case in a court, barristers work consists of paper-work, e.g. advising solicitors on legal problems (called 'giving council's opinion') and drafting plead.

There are two legal professions in England in Wales.

About 83% of solicitors work in private practice and solicitors now, subject to certain rules, unlike barristers, are allowed to advertise their practise.

However, fusing of professions in Belgium haven't given very successful results yet. There has been no noticeable reduction in the cost to the litigant .

Fusion of these two legal profession would inevitably lead to confusions and too many changes to a system that is firmly established and arguably working efficiently. It would also require too much expenditure to proceed with a distinction of the two legal professions, so it is perhaps better to have the present system.

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Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)