The Faculty of Advocates is the collective term by which what in England are called barristers are known in Scotland. Scotland (Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is a country in northwest Europe, occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ...

They professionally attend the supreme courts in Edinburgh; but they are privileged to plead in any cause before the inferior courts, where counsel are not excluded by statute. They may act in cases of appeal before the House of Lords; and in some of the British colonies, where the civil law is in force, it is customary for those who practise as barristers to pass as advocates in Scotland. This article is about the British House of Lords. ...

This body has existed by immemorial custom. Its privileges are constitutional, and are founded on no statute or or charter of incorporation. The body formed itself gradually, from time to time, on the model of the French corporations of avocats, appointing like them by a general vote, a dean or doyen, who is their principal officer. It also differs from the English and Irish societies in that there is no governing body similar to the benchers, nor is there any resemblance to the quasi-collegiate discipline and the usages and customs prevailing in an inn of court.

No curriculum of study, residence or professional training was, until 1856, required on entering this profession; but the faculty have always had the power, believed to be delegated by the Court of Session, of preparing candidates for admission. This task involves a process of examination and practical instruction known as devilling, during which Intrants benefit from intensive structured training in the special skills of advocacy. No-one can be presented to the Court as suitable to be a practising Advocate without satisfying these training requirements. The Faculty also provides for its Members an ongoing programme of talks, seminars and conferences covering a wide range of topics. The Court of Session is the supreme civil court in Scotland. ...

The period of pupillage or training to become an advocate is generally known as Devilling. It lasts between eight and nine months, and comprises a mix of skills training courses and time spent working with a devilmaster. The compulsory skills training courses are spread across the devilling period and last for about ten weeks in total. For the balance of the period of devilling, devils work closely with their devilmasters. Devils are expected to attend court with their devilmasters, and to attend consultations with solicitors instructing their devilmaster and with the solicitors' clients. A devil will also discuss the preparation and presentation of the cases in which their devilmaster is involved and will be required to draft written pleadings and opinions. During the period of devilling, devils also carry out work for the Free Representation Unit. This is part of the Faculty's commitment to providing access to justice for everyone. The Free Representation Unit enables devils to provide advice and representation to clients of Citizens Advice Bureau from across Scotland.

The Faculty includes practising and non-practising members. The current practising Bar includes an increasing proportion of women. Women make up approximately one quarter practising membership. Total numbers now stand at just over 460, of whom approximately one fifth are Queen’s Counsel. The taking of Silk, as assumption of the title of Queen’s Counsel is commonly known, depends upon the prerogative of Her Majesty. This is exercised through the First Minister upon the recommendation of the Lord Justice General. The Dean of Faculty is consulted in the course of this process. As a general rule, Silk is awarded to experienced Counsel, who are considered to have achieved distinction in full-time practice. The First Minister (Prìomh Mhinistear in Scots Gaelic) is the leader of Scotlands national home rule government, the Scottish Executive, which was established in 1999 along with the reconstituted Scottish Parliament. ... The Lord Justice General of Scotland is head of the High Court of Justiciary, Lord President of the Court of Session and head of the judiciary in Scotland. ...

For more than 300 years, the Faculty has maintained within Parliament House the Advocates' Library, accepted generally as the finest working law library in the British Isles. Parliament House is the building in which a national (or, in Australia, a regional) Parliament sits. ... The Advocates Library is a library belonging to the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh, founded in 1682. ...

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

External links

• http://www.advocates.org.uk/ - Official site.