Direct Access Barristers Serving the Public in the UK

Since July 2004 the public have been able to instruct a barrister directly. Many people in the UK are still unaware that when the best legal representation is required, it is possible to approach a barrister through their corresponding chambers. Main benefits include saving the cost of first having to consult with a solicitor.

Generally the two main agents of law in the greater UK are barristers and solicitors, with solicitors having direct access to the clients, being in charge of proceedings and litigations. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, providing dependable legal guidance, as well as drafting legal pleadings.

In the recent decade barristers have been allowed to give service to clients in a more direct manner. Previously this gesture will have contravened a myriad of professional and ethical rules, and it may have led to serious legal ramifications. The law has since been amended in a number of ways, including the emergence of the public access barrister, who is basically approached directly by anyone requiring a more experienced advocate.

This development has had useful implications to the legal professional in general, and what stands out is the fact that a client can call a barrister, effectively bypassing the costly need for an initial consultation with a solicitor. The actual benefit of this gain lies in the fact that clients can be allowed access to any barrister willing to offer them legal services, without the previous introduction process.

Most cases which call for enlisting of public access barrister’s services include criminal appeals, bail applications and contested hearings where imprisonment is questionable. Another example is guilty pleas decided upon in the lower courts.

These changes have had important benefits both in the legal and economic sense; the clientele is saved from having to spend on acquiring legal advice from two people. In these economically challenging times this is a welcome relief.

If it is strong legal representation that is needed, then public access barristers are the best choice for those needing the best lawyers in the UK.