In the UK and a few of the old colonies, members of the legal profession are either solicitors or barristers, not both. This is not the case with Solicitors in Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland.
In the English system a solicitor deals with legal matters outside the court, this can be preparing cases and advising clients. The English solicitor can try cases in court which are civil in nature however civil cases which are complex or involve a great deal of money are handled by barristers. Barristers are engaged by solicitors to represent them and their clients in high court for criminal cases.
The solicitors in Edinburgh work under a totally different arrangement from the system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, solicitors have the right to represent a client in any Sheriffs Court in the land in both criminal and civil proceedings. The solicitor also can plead a case in the District Court; these courts are currently being replaced by Justice of the Peace Courts in which a solicitor has full rights of attendance.
Lawyers are expected to observe certain professional standards; this is not only true in Scotland but everywhere in the world where law is practiced. These standards have evolved over time, they are important to preserve the relationship between the solicitor and his client, between the solicitor and the court and among one’s peers and other members of the legal profession.
In Scotland, criminal lawyers will represent the interests of a party who has been accused of a crime. Typically the solicitor will represent the accused while the government is represented by the prosecution. A solicitor can represent a client regardless of the crime; it can be as straight forward as a road offence to the much more serious crime of murder.
The principle task of Solicitors Edinburgh is to advocate for their client. To effectively do this, the solicitor must learn to set aside any personal opinion that he or she may have about the case. The solicitor must be the champion of his client regardless of whether he believes the client to really be innocent of the crime or guilty. From the moment the solicitor is engaged by the client until the judge bangs the gavel, the solicitor must represent the interests of his client.