Fused profession

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Fused profession is a term relating to jurisdictions where the legal profession is not divided between barristers and solicitors.

It is generally used in the context of Commonwealth countries which have provided by statute for there to be a single profession of "Barrister and Solicitor".

In practice, in some jurisdictions (e.g. New South Wales, Victoria) there is no legal distinction between barristers and solicitors but most practitioners only practise as one or the other, and are members either of the local Bar or Law Society. In others (e.g. Ontario, Tasmania and Western Australia) there is no relevant distinction between these two branches at all.

The legal profession in the United States is fused; however, an individual licensed to practice law is referred to as an attorney at law or, more often, simply an attorney--the terms barrister and solicitor are not typically used. Nonetheless, attorneys within the United States usually must be "admitted to the bar" before being allowed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction.