Solicitor - hangover from the days of a separate bar in the United Kingdom. Bluntly the solicitor does the paperwork, has the client and instructs the barrister, who does the court work.
Solicitor therefore covers a multitude of disciplines within the profession.
It usually means a lawyer who does not normally appear in court. Barrister - The fellow who appears in court on instructions from the solicitor on behalf of you the client. Again a barrister may in turn be a specialist in different areas of law. The principal John Cruickshank is one of approximately 70 solicitors in the United kingdom who has full audience rights in all criminal and civil proceedings. The work is virtually synonymous with barrister.