Difference between Advocate and Lawyer

Key Difference: Basically, a lawyer is someone who has studied and trained in law. Lawyer is a basic term that refers to any person who has a law degree. An advocate is a special type of lawyer, who is eligible to stand in court and represent a client.

Law in general is confusing enough, especially to regular people who do not know much about law in the first place. Hence, when they do require legal help, it is difficult to choose between lawyers, advocates, attorneys, solicitors, etc. Who should they do to? Do they all do the same thing?

Basically, a lawyer is someone who has studied and trained in law. Lawyer is a basic term that refers to any person who has a law degree. They can be various different types of lawyers, such as advocates, attorneys, solicitors, etc., all of whom are considered to be specialists in different fields of law.

An advocate is a special type of lawyer, who is eligible to stand in court and represent a client. The term advocate refers to support to speak on the behalf of a person or a cause, and that is exactly what an advocate does; they represent and speak on the behalf of their client in front of the court of law.

While is the most general difference between advocate and lawyer, it should be noted that the roles of an advocate and lawyer, as well as the usage of the terms and the difference between them may differ in each country as depending upon their own definition of the terms and their implication. For example: the term advocate is not used in the United States, where they are called just lawyers. However, it is predominantly used in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth Nations.

Comparison between Advocate and Lawyer:

	Advocate	Lawyer
Description (Oxford Dictionaries)	A person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy. A person who puts a case on someone else's behalf. A professional pleader in a court of justice. Scottish and South African term for barrister	A person who practises or studies law, especially (in the UK) a solicitor or a barrister or (in the US) an attorney.
Description	Represents a client in the court of law	Anyone who holds a law degree
Duties	Represent a client in the court of law Speak on behalf of a client Plead their case	Give law advice Can do litigation Role and duties may change depending on the type of lawyer.

Reference: Oxford Dictionaries (Advocate and Lawyer),
Wikipedia (Advocate and Lawyer), Dictionary.com
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