]] I am unsure of the exact nature of an attorney in Jane's day. I know that it was something like a solicitor, but not quite, and that it was certainly one of the lower orders of legal practice. Any sort of legal practitioner other than a barrister was not considered a gentleman.

According to one book I read, attorney at that time was roughly the equivalent of solicitor in England today. Solicitor was used specifically to refer to those who dealt with matters under the jurisdiction of the equity courts, which were different, and less often used, than the common law courts. Because the equity courts were higher in authority and prestige than common law courts, solicitors were a little more prestigious than attorneys. Hence there was a general movement during the 19th century for more and more attorneys to call themselves solicitors, and at some point later in the century (around 1870 I believe) they managed to get Parliament to pass a law mandating that only the term solicitor be used, rather than attorney.