Unlike the United States, where all courtroom lawyers are called attorneys, England and Wales split the legal profession into two distinct roles: solicitors and barristers. Solicitors handle client intake, gather evidence, and manage paperwork, while barristers specialize in courtroom advocacy and are hired, or “instructed,” by solicitors for serious cases. This structural division, rooted in centuries of legal tradition, shapes the novel’s world. Leila’s career depends not only on her courtroom skill but on a web of professional relationships: Clerks like Jim distribute cases and manage a barrister’s workload, solicitors like Davina funnel briefs to chambers, and the head of chambers, Chester Vernon, wields significant influence over professional trajectories.

Barristers operate as self-employed practitioners working from shared offices known as chambers, a term Leila learns early never to call “an office” (8). This self-employed status carries a crucial implication: Barristers from the same chambers can find themselves on opposing sides of the same case, as Julian and Leila do. There is no equivalent to an American law firm’s conflict-of-interest prohibition that prevents colleagues from facing each other in court. Spouses can also oppose one another provided they “act professionally and impartially” (16). The financial model also differs sharply from American practice.