Finding a qualified lawyer
Each country has its own legal system and it own laws, so you need to find a lawyer who is qualified in the laws of the country where the dispute is. Particular areas within a country might have a few laws which apply just to them such as nature reserves or urban areas, but in some countries, for historical reasons, different regions have not just a few special laws but actually have different legal systems - jurisdictions. In this case you need a lawyer who is qualified in the particular jurisdiction within the country. It may be obvious which jurisdiction is the appropriate one for your legal issue - for example if you have a dispute about ownership of, or rights connected with, land, you will normally need a lawyer qualified in the jurisdiction where the land is situated. Sometimes more than one jurisdiction is involved and there may be a query over which jurisdiction's laws and/or tribunals apply. If in doubt as to the appropriate jurisdiction you can consult a lawyer qualified in the jurisdiction you think is appropriate and they should either confirm that it is the correct jurisdiction or else redirect you.
Qualified lawyers in different jurisdictions have different professional titles and, even between English-speaking countries with legal systems based on the Common Law, professional titles vary. For example, in Barbados lawyers are known as Attorneys-at-law, in Guernsey lawyers are known as Advocates, and the equivalent in England is Barristers. English Barristers collectively are known as "the Bar" or "members of the English Bar" and the expression "the Bar" is used in many other jurisdictions even some jurisdictions where individual lawyers are not called Barristers. So, for example, individual lawyers in Guernsey are known as Advocates but collectively they are known as "the Guernsey Bar".
The best way of finding a lawyer will vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but, in virtually all jurisdictions, the regulatory body or bodies which authorise lawyers to practise law will have websites, which are a useful starting point, and knowing the terminology, and finding out the professional titles used by qualified lawyers in a particular jurisdiction, will help you to find a suitable lawyer.
Some jurisdictions have more than one type of lawyer. For example, in England and some other Common Law jurisdictions, there is a dual profession with barristers and solicitors. In such dual-profession jurisdictions barristers represent clients at hearings and, because of their role in arguing cases, they are usually also asked to draft the "pleadings" (which define how a case will the argued at a hearing - what legal points are to be relied on) and they also provide expert legal advice. Solicitors collate evidence and co-ordinate the various steps involved in litigation usually calling on the services of a barrister at those stages where the expertise of a barrister is required. Traditionally, in such jurisdictions, you always had to go to a solicitor first who would ascertain what kinds of information and evidence (e.g. documents) were relevant to the matter in dispute, collate that information and evidence, and then send a copy to a specialist barrister for advice. In some dual-profession jurisdictions, such as Scotland, this solicitor-intermediary arrangement is still a fairly rigid requirement, whereas in some other jurisdictions with a dual profession, such as England and Wales, the rule has been relaxed somewhat in the computer age so that a client can in most civil cases save costs by themselves doing the administrative work (collecting documents etc.) and going direct to a barrister for initial expert advice at least, with a solicitor being required in addition only later on if there is a particular kind of litigation.
