ABA Journal Features Commentary from Matheu D. Nunn in “Lawyer v. Attorney: Are all titles created equal?”
January 14, 2025
In an article about the distinction between the meanings of “attorney” and “lawyer,” the ABA Journal included commentary from Matheu D. Nunn, co-chair of Einhorn Barbarito’s Family/Matrimonial and Appellate practices. Mat explained that technically, all attorneys are lawyers, but not all lawyers are attorneys, stating, “an attorney is someone who passed the bar examination and has been admitted to practice law in a jurisdiction. But a lawyer, who may have received the same legal training as an attorney, has not been admitted to practice law. Both may provide legal guidance, but only the attorney can appear in court, whereas a lawyer can provide advice as a consultant or an adviser, in which the advice is based on their training and education.”
Mat also said that standard English language dictionaries and Black’s Law Dictionary treat the terms as equivalents or synonymous, as do most judges, attorneys and lawyers.
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