David Leonhardt, age 16, of Marion, Ohio, for his question:

IN LAW, WHAT IS AN ADVOCATE?

In law, in a general sense, an advocate is one who pleads for another in a court or other tribunal. In Great Britain, professional advocates are called barristers and are permitted to plead or argue cases before the High Court of Justice. A barrister is distinguished from a solicitor, who may conduct litigation only in inferior courts.

The "advocat" or "avoue" in France are analogous to the barrister and solicitor in England.

In the United States, most British colonies and some parts of Europe, the two branches of the legal profession are not separate.

In a narrower sense, the term advocate was formerly used in Great Britain to denote a member of the College of Advocates at Doctors' Commons. These advocates had the exclusive right to plead in the ecclesiastical and admiralty courts and took precedence over all ordinary barristers.