Why do attorneys call themselves attorneys at law?

Recently I saw some people on social media poking fun at attorneys for how they sometimes refer to themselves as “attorneys at law.” After all, isn’t that redundant and unnecessary? Aren’t all attorneys considered attorneys at law? If so, why bother saying "attorney at law" and not just "attorney"? As it turns out, while today it isn’t always necessary to specify “at law,” there is a reason for the practice.

That reason is to distinguish among various types of attorneys. You see, today, when we hear the term "attorney," it is generally understood that the person we are referring to is a trained and licensed legal professional who can represent their clients' legal interests, including in court. But historically the term attorney had multiple meanings that needed to be distinguished between.

One example is in the old English court system. In those days, the courts were split into two types of courts: courts of law (which dealt with issues and conflicts involving written codes and statutes) and courts of equity (which dealt with issues of fairness that were not capable of being adequately addressed by the written laws). These two types of courts were distinct and handled different types of cases. In those days, attorneys who appeared in the former were called attorneys at law, while those who worked in the latter were called attorneys at equity.

Distinguishing between attorneys at law and attorneys at equity is not much of an issue today because, for the most part, courts of law and courts of equity have largely been merged, although there are still some remaining courts of equity in the United States.

Additionally, at least in the United States, in the rare cases where courts of law and courts of equity have not been merged, licensed attorneys (what we would consider to be attorneys at law) are generally able to appear in both the courts of law and in the courts of equity, and thus there is not a need to specifically identify the attorneys that appear in each of the courts. (This is unlike how some countries still have barristers and solicitors, who serve different functions and thus must be differentiated between).

However, it must be noted that the need to distinguish between types of attorneys is not merely a historic need. As it turns out, the term "attorney at law" still has a practical purpose, even in today's world. This is because there are still attorneys in fact. According to Investopedia, "[a]n attorney-in-fact is a person who is authorized to act on behalf of another person, usually to perform business or other official transactions. The person represented usually designates someone as their attorney-in-fact by assigning power of attorney." A person serving this role does not have to be barred (i.e., licensed to practice law), and is often someone who has a familial or personal relationship with the person who is granting them power of attorney.

Stated differently, and according to UpCounsel, "[a]n attorney in fact is an agent who is authorized to act on behalf of another person but isn't necessarily authorized to practice law. An attorney at law is a lawyer who has been legally qualified to prosecute and defend actions before a court of law." Furthermore, turning back to the historical origins of the term, "[i]n the British legal system, different terminology was used based on the type of law that was practiced. For example, the term 'private attorney' was used for the one hired for business or legal affairs, whereas an attorney at law, or public attorney, was the qualified legal agent in the Common Law courts. At the turn of the 19th century, the distinction was eventually abolished when lawyers became known as solicitors. However, in the U.S., the term was adopted to refer to any law practitioner."

In conclusion, while attorneys calling themselves attorneys at law may seem redundant and overly formal, it turns out that there are actually very good and interesting explanations, both historic and contemporary, for the practice of attorneys referring to themselves as attorneys at law.