While many people use the terms “Attorney” and “Lawyer” interchangeably, they mean different things. Each carries varying rights and responsibilities. Of course, “lawyer” and “attorney” have much in common. They both describe individuals who have received legal training and earned a Juris Doctor (JD) degree. However, every attorney is a lawyer, but not all lawyers are attorneys.

“Attorneys” must pass the bar exam, a two- or three-day, state-specific test combined with UBE MPRE and other state-required fitness tests that measure a lawyer’s knowledge and competence to practice law.

Defining “Lawyer”

A lawyer has completed a legal training course at a law school, which usually involves three years of full-time study beyond an undergraduate degree, specifically earning a (Juris Doctorate Degree) (JD).

If a law school graduate doesn’t take the bar exam or takes it but doesn’t pass, this doesn’t necessarily mean they can never use the knowledge they gained in law school in an employment context. On the contrary, many people with law degrees work outside the law in various sectors, including government and business.

However, a Lawyer without membership in a state bar cannot represent clients in court or other legal proceedings. If a lawyer does this, they can be charged with the unlawful practice of law despite having a law degree. However, in some states, they can work under the supervision of an attorney with a license in that jurisdiction.

Defining “Attorney”

An attorney has completed the educational requirements to take a state bar exam, passed the exam, and taken an oath as a state bar member.

Attorneys have a license and the right to practice law. They may be members of more than one state bar—mainly if they practice near a border between two states. Attorney specialties vary and may require membership in a separate bar, such as the patent bar for patent attorneys.

As a state bar member, an attorney must also comply with the state’s rules of professional conduct. These ethics rules provide guidelines for how an attorney must conduct their practice, such as attorney advertising, keeping client and personal funds separate, attorney-client privilege, and maintaining reasonable communication with the client regarding the progress of a case.

Violations of these rules can lead to charges against the attorney by a state ethics board, which may take various disciplinary actions against the attorney, including reprimand, suspension, or disbarment.

Do the differences in the use of these terms matter? Practically speaking, not really — though it depends on whom you ask.

Most lawyers and attorneys need to distinguish between the two terms and use them interchangeably, so it’s likely that you will avoid offending a legal professional’s sensibilities if you mix them up.

Defining “Esquire” or the word short for “Esq.”

In the United States, esquire (often shortened to Esq.) is a title of courtesy given to a “lawyer” and commonly appended to his/her surname (e.g., John Smith, Esq. or John Smith, Esquire) when addressing the lawyer in written form. It is traditionally considered a solecism to append Esq. or Esquire to one’s name. In some cultures, the abbreviation “Esq.” implies a “gentry whose rank was superior to that of a gentleman but inferior to that of a knight.” No law in the United States awards the abbreviation “Esq.” in fact.

In England, esquire does not carry the same professional meaning but is instead a mostly obsolete courtesy title appended to a man’s name when he has no other title. Historically, the title was an honorific used for a member of the English gentry whose rank was superior to that of a gentleman but inferior to that of a knight.

As a title, esquire, meaning shield bearer, originated in Great Britain and France as a term of nobility in the Middle Ages. It applied to a knight’s squire, who hoped to acquire a noble rank as he rose to knighthood. Even though a fascinating fact is that the United States Constitution prohibits noble titles, it does not have prohibitions in the following:

So what is the definition of “Esquire.”

“Esquire” in American English

(ˈɛsˌkwaɪr; ɛˈskwaɪr; ɪˈskwaɪr)

noun

1.  Obsolete a candidate for knighthood, acting as attendant and shield-bearer for a knight; squire

2.  in England, a member of the gentry ranking just below a knight

3. A title of courtesy, usually abbreviated Esq., Esqr., is placed after a man’s surname and corresponds more ceremoniously to Mr., in the U.S., now used for lawyers, male and female 

4.  Archaic, a landed country gentleman, squire.

ArtI.S9.C8.4 Titles of Nobility and the Constitution

The Constitution’s prohibition on titles of nobility reflects the American aversion to aristocracy and the republican character of the government established by the Constitution. The Clause thus complements other constitutional provisions — most notably the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments — prohibiting invidious governmental distinctions between classes of American citizens. The Articles of Confederation and many Revolutionary-era state constitutions prohibited titles of nobility and other systems of hereditary privilege. The federal Title of Nobility Clause substantially followed the Articles’ prohibition and was not a subject of significant debate at the Constitutional Convention. As James Madison observed in Federalist No. 44, The ban concerning titles of nobility is copied from the Articles of Confederation and needs no comment. Alexander Hamilton, in the Federalist No. 84, was only slightly more loquacious:

Nothing should be said to illustrate the importance of prohibiting titles of nobility. This may indeed be denominated the cornerstone of republican government; so long as they are excluded, there can never be danger that the government will be any other than that of the people.

Very few courts have had to interpret the meaning of the federal Title of Nobility Clause. The Supreme Court has only discussed it in passing, as when Justices cite it to make a rhetorical point in a concurring or dissenting opinion.

How broadly to understand the prohibition of the Title of Nobility Clause thus remains an open, if perhaps academic, question. On a narrow reading, the Clause merely prohibits a federal system of hereditary privilege along the lines of the British aristocratic system. More broadly understood, the Clause could preclude other governmental grants of enduring favor or disfavor to particular classes based on birth or other non-merit-based criteria. Some commentators have suggested that the Title of Nobility Clause might forbid admission preferences for legacy students at state universities or certain benefits accompanying receipt of the Medal of Honor. After adopting the Fourteenth Amendment, challenges to governmental favoritism based on class, race, or other bases have usually relied on the Equal Protection Clause.

So, in the U.S. Constitution, “Esq.” is a prohibited word or a title of the nobility, but it is straightforward: “NOWHERE”!

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