To think colleague is ridiculous? (Grammar)

[babystormi]

I have a new admin job and part of that is sending letters out to solicitors.

I’m in training so colleague (who’s worked in the role a good 15 years) corrected me on this -

On the address I put the company name as “Solicitor & Lawyer” ... exactly how they have their company name on their own letter and website etc but despite this I was told it was unprofessional and I need to put “Solicitor and Lawyer”.

Who’s right?

I think that your colleague is just trying to teach you a lesson because he/she is older and is in the position for 15 years. So yeah, I think it is ridiculous. And calling you unprofessional, oh gosh.... Just ignore it.

I agree with cloud. It's weird to say solicitor and lawyer. All solicitors are lawyers anyway.

What's the difference between a solicitor and a lawyer, if there is one at all?

Oh dear OP, looks like you need to up your game when it comes to making up example names to illustrate your issue as well.

Solicitor is defined, lawyer isn't.

A lawyer works within law, could have any or no qualifications. Solicitor is on the role of the law society.

If I have understood correctly, all solicitors are lawyers (ie. they have a degree in Law and have done the professional training to practice as a solicitor). But some lawyers will be barristers - more senior, and able to appear in Crown Court. And some people with Law degrees do not practice law at all, they go on to other careers - as ds1 did - he uses the contract law part of his degree in his job as a quantity surveyor, dealing with contracts with third parties.

OK, thanks.

Follow up question. SDTG describes a barrister as a sort of senior lawyer, which was my understanding. But every so often it is mentioned that Barrister pay can be shockingly low, sometimes even below the equivalent of NMW, ie £12-14k pa.

Surely this cannot be right? No-one would do that sort of job for so little money, unless they were very part time would they?

Is it something to do with a logo versus the actual company name? So on a letterhead, they would have the logo which includes an ampersand but the true company name is written as Blah and Blah is included in a body of text.

when included in a body of text

Solicitor Firms are Partnerships. They are professionals the same as Drs. and do not form Limited Companies.

Where a company say.. Bodgit & Scarper Solicitors have a letter addressed to them I personally would use the ampersand in the address but "and" in the body of the letter. But it is personal pereference - I worked for a long time with Solicitor Firms and they are only bothered if you spell a name wrong and then only if it is their name - lol

I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that question, @BarbaraofSeville - but I will ask ds1 the next time I speak to him.

There's no strictly correct way but in my experience law firms have their own style guidance, so i would just fall in with that. If there's no guide, do what the person you're producing the letter for likes done.

Absolutely creasing at the people on this thread who haven't realised it's m is a made up name in OP's post

Yes the comments about the actual names are so funny. Open your eyes people

The answer is of course that you should always write the company name in its correct legal form.

So if the legal proper name uses an ampersand, you should use this everywhere, including within copy. It would incorrect (and pedantic and stupid) to correct it something else.

Senua above has it spot on - you wouldn't correct the spelling of a firm's name and this is no different.

OP I think you'll find your username should be "Baby Stormy"

Yeah sorry guy this post is actually fake and I work for the law firm “Solicitors and Lawyers”. Just trying to get some free advertising in

Also it wasn’t my boss who said it. Not sure why people assumed that. It was colleague who works in the exact same role, but has done for longer.

*guys

Your boss is wrong. Ampersand use depends on house styles but it would be perverse to ‘correct’ the name of the organisation you’re writing to.

Did you point out that you addressed it that way because it’s how the recipient writes it?

Sorry *colleague

'Solicitors and Lawyers' would be a good name for a firm. I know a pub called 'The Pub' so any time someone talks about going to the pub, it gets a mention.

Agree with PPs. Ampersand used only in titles, not for individuals. So Smith & Jones LLP, but .....eg Mr Smith and Mr Jones ran the business

Sorry posted to soon
But it’s not incorrect to use “and” in the title if that’s how the business identifies itself e.g Smith and Jones LLP. It is always incorrect to use an ampersand within text

@senua - are you sure of your methodology looking at that Top 200 list? www.conscious.co.uk/site/our-clients/top-200-law-firms/

I just clicked on Slaughter and May on that list and on their own website they use "and". So the "&" may just be the choice of the compiler of the top 200 list.

But it’s not incorrect to use “and” in the title if that’s how the business identifies itself e.g Smith and Jones LLP. It is always incorrect to use an ampersand within text

Right but I wouldn’t use an & if the company didn’t use it themselves in their own name,

On the other hand, Allen & Overy clearly do have an ampersand in their name (it's even in their official company registration) beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/OC306763 so it would be erroneous to address them as "Allen and Overy".