Lawyer, Solicitor, Barrister, Attorney or Advocate in Bulgaria?
All Bulgarian lawyers, solicitors, barristers, attorneys and advocates are legal professionals who act on behalf of their clients with respect to different legal matters. However many are asking one question - what is the difference between an advocate, an attorney, a barrister, a solicitor and a lawyer in Bulgaria?
Surprisingly to some people there is no difference from legal point of view. There is only one figure in Bulgarian Bar Act and in Bulgarian its name is "advokat", pronounced almost like the English "advocate". In other words lawyer, solicitor, barrister, attorney and advocate are synonyms of one and the same thing. However, different legal professionals use only one of those five titles to introduce themselves before their clients, depending on the practice areas they specialize and depending on their experience. So from practical point of view actually there are differences. Below is a brief summary, based on personal observations throughout the recent years, of some typical, but yet not mandatory differences, implied in the names lawyer, solicitor, barrister, attorney and advocate, used by Bulgarian professionals in the field of law.
Lawyer is the most commonly used and widely spread translation of the Bulgarian "advokat". Hence most legal professionals use it in their work - despite of their experience, field of law in which they are specializing etc. Having in mind this a potential client could expect anything if he only knows that someone is just a Bulgarian lawyer and has no more information about his legal practice. However in Bulgaria lawyers are sometimes known for their participation in court cases and trials - and for this reason Bulgarian lawyers are most frequently associated with litigation lawyers. They are also known as Bulgarian court lawyers.
Professionals who introduce themselves as Bulgarian solicitors are usually specializing in and take care of the out-of-court dealings of their clients. Typically solicitors assist in interpreting Bulgarian law and advising clients with regards to different legal issues. Most popular in Bulgaria are the conveyancing solicitors (or property solicitors) who are specialists in the field of real estate issues - property transactions, wills and probate services etc. Condominium solicitors in Bulgaria are also popular recently after the new Bulgarian Condominium Ownership and Management Act came in force as there are many outstanding problems in different condominiums in Bulgaria - from construction defects, through non-payers, to unfair treatment by developers and managers. Bulgarian solicitors work on different legal cases mainly by examining documents, giving professional advice and assessment, conducting negotiations.
Some Bulgarian lawyers name themselves "barristers". Barristers are known for their legal experience and excellent knowledge of Bulgarian law. A barrister would typically plead in court on complicated cases or in higher court instances. Except to collect most evidence, Bulgarian barristers know exactly when and how to use them as Bulgarian civil court procedures are very formalistic and sometimes valuable evidence is found inadmissible by Bulgarian judges. An interesting fact is that in Bulgaria only legal professionals with more than 5 years of legal experience can plead and take participation in proceedings in Bulgarian Supreme Courts. This is sometimes used to make the difference between Bulgarian lawyers and barristers. Some barristers are not willing to take participation in court proceedings personally and prefer to give instructions to their colleagues who litigate in Bulgarian courts.
Attorney is a not very popular synonym of lawyer in Bulgaria. Attorneys, just like lawyers, are not commonly distinguished for specializing in certain fields of law. Attorney is sometimes comprehended as trustworthy legal representative, e.g. a family lawyer or a company lawyer in Bulgaria. One should know that almost all legal professionals in Bulgaria use the title "attorney-at-law" after their name on their business cards - no matter whether they are for example conveyancing solicitors or litigation barristers.
And finally advocate - although it sounds almost exactly as the Bulgarian "advokat" - is used very rarely. Typically it's a common word for all members of the Bar. In rare cases it is used in criminal cases as a synonym of defense attorney.
As mentioned above, from legal point of view legal professionals in Bulgaria are split into two major groups depending on their experience: professionals with more than 5 years of legal experience and professionals with less than 5 years of experience. The second group are not allowed to plead in Bulgarian Supreme Courts. But actually there is another, third category of legal professionals recognized by Bulgarian Bar Act - junior lawyers (also popular as junior attorneys). This is a relatively new figure, born in the recent years. All young Bulgarian lawyers without prior legal experience are admitted to the Bar as junior lawyers. They become lawyers after 2 years of practice as junior lawyers. But until then they suffer certain limitations - e.g. they cannot participate in civil court cases where the claims are in amounts higher than approx. 12500 Euros etc.
