Services provided by barristers directly to the public have only recently been allowed; previously
a barrister could only be instructed by a solicitor.
A good description of these rules can be found
here or
here.
The first part of this page describes chambers which have made a particular effort to be available for, and to provide, services from their barristers
direct to the public and to other relevant bodies.
There is also a section further down for
individual barristers who have set up a web site specifically for public access purposes.
Two sponsored links below
Direct Public Access
Instruct Barristers and QC's directly in a range of legal issues including Fraud and Compliance issues,
Disciplinary & Regulatory, Licensing, Employment, Immigration and Mediation Services.
Public Access Bar Association (PABA) represents the interests of the
several hundred English and Welsh Barristers who offer direct legal services to the public and the business community in
cases where the use of a Solicitor is no longer necessary. Under the Bar scheme launched in 2004, members of the public
and businesses may instruct Barristers directly and without the intervention of a solicitor.
This scheme is ground-breaking for the Bar of England and Wales. Whilst the media might portray the Bar to be arcane and
remote, Public Access work involves user-friendly Barristers opening their doors and engaging directly with clients.
Public Access work has revealed how legal expertise can be delivered without extortionate cost and undue formality.
Find a Barrister is a legal directory provided by PABA (as above)
containing profiles of Public Access barristers in England and Wales. The public can
search through barristers’ profiles under location, area of law, keywords or experience.
Practical guidance and information is provided about Public Access work.
Havers find-a-barrister search engine
provides a searching process to more than 11,000 barristers by their expertise/town/junior or QC or simply
by their name or set of Chambers. The search engine is free to use.
Barristers can also be searched under a category of "Accepts Public Access work".
Havers work in collaboration with most major publishers to provide links from their directory to case reports and other
information on the publishers' web sites.
Barristers have to pay a subscription for this enhanced facility but their basic contact details are provided for free.
Barristers Direct is a group within "traditional" chambers
4 King's Bench Walk which focuses on the work which barristers can do without instructing a solicitor.
Head of Chambers Timothy Raggatt QC says that Members of his Chambers have been amongst the first at the
Bar to train for and to accept public access instructions. There is extensive information about
Direct Access (who work can be taken on, and what cannot) on the site.
Divorce-StayFriends is a group of direct access
barristers from Cobden House Chambers servicing Chester, Cheshire & The Wirral.
They can be contacted once proceedings have been started or beforehand.
They are able to give advice in conference, draft documents and represent the client at court hearings.
They can also offer alternate dispute resolution in the form of collaboration. This is a relatively new process
rapidly gaining purchase with those going through divorce and separation. It is not mediation, settlement is reached
by round table conferences with both sides represented by a specialised practitioner.
Once agreement is reached final binding orders are drafted and approved by the court.
They deal with financial claims, property disputes, capital adjustment and maintenance and, in cases involving
children, with contact, residence and removal from the jurisdiction.
They act for parents, grandparents and other family members.
1 Gray's Inn Square Chambers is one of the oldest and largest sets at the Bar.
They cover Commercial & Civil, Criminal, Employment, Family Law, Immigration, Inquest & Public Inquiries
and Regulatory work. Their barristers undertake Direct Access work across all practice areas saving the general
public and other clients time, effort and cost. There is extensive information on
Direct Access and how it works,
including a section of Frequently Asked Questions and how to instruct a particular barrister.
Immigration Barristers online is a company set up by a
dedicated group of barristers who aim to provide the best legal advice and at an affordable price.
Each practitioner has been specifically chosen for the proven quality and skill of their work.
Immigration, Asylum and Human Rights law is a complex area of law and expert advice is often needed.
1 Inner Temple Lane is the chambers of Marion Smullen and Kerim Fuad QC.
There are 36 members offering advice and advocacy predominately in all aspects and
levels of crime, but also family law, employment and civil litigation.
Members are instructed in work across the country. They also have a
growing Public Access team able to receive instructions directly from
clients in all types of work.
1 Mitre Court Buildings is an established set
(formerly 8 Kings Bench Walk) with a reputation for human rights and civil liberties work.
Their immigration team are almost all direct access accredited and have a they have a dedicated direct access website
for their immigration work.
Lincoln House Chambers is widely acknowledged as one of the leading sets of
chambers outside London. There is a growing need for Direct Public Access
and Chambers are well placed to offer and support cost effective solutions
both nationally and internationally in a range of areas including Business
and Commercial Crime, Fraud, Regulatory and Disciplinary, Licensing,
Immigration and other specialist areas.
Palmyra Chambers, based in warrington, is a new Set.
Their areas of practice are Commercial Law, Family Law, Media and Entertainment, Local Government & Housing,
Crime, Employment Law, Personal Injury and International Law.
All Members are Public Access qualified.
Park Chambers, based in Weybridge, Surrey,
are Erich Suter’s specialist employment law and mediation chambers. As well as accepting instructions through
solicitors in the normal way, they accept Direct Public Access instructions from companies and the public
in all areas of employment law including unfair dismissal, equal pay, all types of discrimination,
transfer of undertakings, contract cases and redundancies as well as accepting Public Access instructions
for commercial, employment and workplace mediations.
Red Lion Court is one of the largest chambers in the country.
They specialise in crime and regulatory law, representing both prosecution and defence.
Their work encompasses Homicide, Rape and other heavy crime, Terrorism, Organised Crime, Proceeds of Crime,
Fraud, Financial Regulation, Indirect Tax Tribunals, Health & Safety, Environmental Regulation, Inquests, Inquiries,
Disciplinary Tribunals and Courts Martial.
Riverview Chambers consists of 44 barristers including some of
the UK's leading QCs, who provide a Barrister-led service on a fixed fee basis under the Riverview Law brand, working alongside
Riverview Solicitors.
They are based in London and offer business law representation and advice with some additional high end consumer legal
services such as divorce. Riverview Law also provides a variety of fixed price annual legal packages for companies
as well as legal outsourcing services for major corporations.
An extra feature of Riverview Law is free access to an online Legal Library with
over 650 plain English advice pages and over 450 documents, letters and templates.
Neil Addison, runs two websites
Harassment Law and
Religion Law. He provides direct public access advice and drafting
services to members of the public or businesses involved in Harassment,
Bullying or Discrimination cases as well as Mediation and Arbitration.
Richard Balchin of New Court Chambers in London specialises in family law.
He is now able to take on lay clients directly in a range of areas of work including divorce, children, court of protection and
inheritance matters. He also provides a web site
Dad Law, targeted towards fathers, covering topics such as
Residence or Shared Residence of their Child, Contact with their Child and Applications to the Family Courts
in respect of their child’s welfare, education and future.
Henry Olusola Davies is a dual qualified barrister England & Wales and Nigeria)
and a Mediator. He practises Immigration, Crime and Human Rights and provides services as a Public Access Barrister.
Christine Dean of 1 Pump Court is a
Family Law barrister specialising in all aspects of Child Law cases including public and private children proceedings.
She is a member of the Law Society’s Children’s Panel and is accredited as a Higher Court Advocate.
Shereen Dyer is a member of East Anglian Chambers and
has been advising and representing clients in the Magistrates, County, Crown and Appeal Courts since 2003.
She prosecutes and defends in jury trials in the Crown Court, advises and represents in civil cases from small claims to multi-track,
and has experience before the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal and Court of Appeal.
Shereen is now able to offer her specialist legal advice and representation services directly to members of the public in London
and East Anglia through her Chambers.
Stephen Harvey QC is listed in the prestigious Chambers UK
Guide to the legal profession as a Leading Silk and he has appeared in many high profile and complex cases.
He came to the Bar after careers in engineering, the public service and the financial world. He
offers advice and representation to individuals, businesses, partnerships, corporates and others.
Immigration Barristers has been set up by
Paul Richmond and Simon Canter who have over 10 years experience as specialist immigration barristers.
From assisting with applications for UK visas through to the conduct of immigration appeals, they are committed to providing
high quality Direct Access legal advice and representation to individuals and businesses affected by UK immigration law.
Chis Kessling is an experienced barrister with an
exclusive practice in criminal law defence. From his base in the east midlands he represents clients the
length and breadth of England & Wales.
He has represented clients across the spectrum of criminal offences and now works predominantly on serious
cases in the Crown Court. He is regularly instructed to advise on appeals both against conviction and sentence.
Ian Mann is a barrister at 13 Kings Bench Walk.
He practices in employment disputes representing both employers and employees.
His employment practice embraces the full spectrum of Employment Tribunal, High Court
and appellate work and covers all areas of employment law, especially discrimination.
He has a special section on his site about Direct Access and how he can take work under this scheme.
Ian Mason has over thirty years experience as a practising barrister
and practises general common law with specialist expertise in housing, landlord and tenant and property law.
He advises and helps small businesses with contractual disputes and debt collection and enforcement matters as well
as dealing with neighbour and boundary disputes, disrepair and unlawful evictions.
Richard Miles is a barrister
with over 10 years experience specialising in civil and commercial law who now offers his services directly to
the general public and business community. He provides advice and support to businesses and individuals,
mainly in relation to contract or business disputes. He also provides advice to businesses to stop themselves
getting into a dispute, such as advising on a contract or standard terms and conditions.
David Osborne is located near Taunton in Somerset.
He has been in private practice for over 35 years, and has considerable experience in the fields of crime,
family and matrimonial, general common law, contract, landlord and tenant, inquests, personal injury
and road traffic accidents. His practice is now almost exclusively Public Access work.
Duncan Richards practises from Lamb Building, the Chambers of Ami Feder, in London.
He is a civil practitioner and represent both claimants and defendants in small, fast and multi-track
cases involving disputes based upon the common law of contract and torts as well as in residential and
commercial property disputes. Defending and applying for possession orders are covered.
He represents clients in cases of personal injury, particularly in road traffic matters.
Note to chambers and barristers who are featuring direct access services on their web site - let me know
and I will add you to this list! No charge.
email delia@venables.co.uk
Legal Services Provided by Barristers direct to the Public (rather than via a Solicitor) under the Public Access Rules.
