Both come in and out of fashion over time but they are mostly used to get chump-change from the populace.

Wigs vs no wigs

There are magistrate and crown courts. Magistrates will deal with “lesser” crimes themselves but will forward the “big ones” onto the Crown Court.

For more serious crimes you still (mostly) have the right to a jury trial.

We also differentiate between solicitors and barristers. Both are lawyers. Solicitors are everywhere and it’s super easy to have a meeting with one. Barristers tend to be retained on your behalf via your solicitor. It’s possible to not even see your barrister until you’re in court and they are defending you.

In the US, at least, it’s a legal system. Justice is frequently missing.

Generally, they’re struggling with the same issues of being severely under-staffed and under-funded to the point where they can’t really function without a “McJustice” style system. They recently stopped are considering ending jury trials for sentences less than 3 years.** You only get a judge. However, the UK has MUCH shorter sentences than the US (because American long sentences are outside the global norm and generally just irrational). The average length of a sentence to jail is under 2 years, so most people will never get a jury trial.

Also, unlike in the US, law graduates require a “pupilage” position under someone else before they’re allowed to practice, and only about 5-10% of law grads receive them.

In the UK, magistrates, who try cases at lower courts, aren’t trained lawyers but civilian volunteers, who have trained lawyers as advisors on the technical aspects. Not sure if this is the case in the US.