The contribution of almost all court personnel is essential in the effective functioning of the English legal system. The most notable include: the judge or magistrate, the jury, defendant, plaintiff, barristers, solicitors and the crown prosecutors. They all contribute to the functioning of the legal system in different ways and the effectiveness of their contribution can be assessed with references to legislation, case histories and various law reports. The term ‘lawyer’ has become an almost standard term that is heard in daily use and The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as ‘a member of the legal profession’ but this masks the point that there is no single legal profession but instead there are two principle professions and some secondary ones. In England and Wales there are commonly thought to be two branches of the qualified legal profession: barristers and solicitors