Public Access

Members of the public and members of professional institutions are able to obtain a barrister’s services directly.

What Is Public Access?

Since 2004, the public access scheme has enabled members of the public and businesses to instruct a Barrister directly without having to use a Solicitor or other third party to instruct on their behalf.

Not all Barristers can accept instructions this way, but at Guildhall Chambers we have a number of Barristers, across many specialisations licensed to accept instructions directly.

Download the enquiry form and return it to [email protected].

*As part of our due diligence and anti money laundering process we will carry out a soft search background check once you have confirmed you wish to proceed. A £20 administration charge will be applied to cover the cost of the search.

What are the benefits of Public Access?

Public access can save you money. You will only be paying for a Barrister, as opposed to a Barrister and a Solicitor.
You have direct access to a specialist legal advisor and advocate.
You’ll have increased continuity. Your case is handled by one individual, not a firm.
The fees are transparent. As we agree fixed fees in advance of work being undertaken, there is transparency and you can keep control of your legal costs.

For more information you can read the Bar Standards Board Public Access Guidance for Lay Clients.

Frequently Asked Questions

Not all cases are suitable for public access instructions. Our Barristers are not authorised to conduct litigation on your behalf which means that you need to be confident that you can undertake the administrative tasks associated with managing a case this includes:

Collating relevant papers and evidence in support.
Providing clear and concise instructions for your Barrister.
Corresponding with the Court and other parties directly (although your Barrister will be able to draft letters and other legal documents on your behalf).

If your case is complex, or if you are in any doubt that you can manage these elements of your case yourself, we would recommend that you engage the services of a Solicitor.

Public access is not suitable for work that is publicly funded. To find out if you are eligible for public funding (sometimes referred to as Legal Aid) please click here.

Similarly, we will not undertake ‘no win, no fee’ arrangements for Public Access work.

The cost will vary depending upon what you are instructing a Barrister to do for you, the complexity and nature of your case and the seniority of counsel. We have a dedicated, experienced team of Clerks that will be your first point of contact with Guildhall Chambers.

Once papers and clear instructions have been received, a Clerk will contact you with a proposed fee and timescale for completing the work. Assuming that is agreed, they will send you a letter of engagement that sets out our terms and conditions, confirms the quote and requires your countersignature. Fees are then to be paid in advance of the work being undertaken. No fees are payable until that quote has been given, accepted and that letter of engagement signed.

Typically Barristers specialise in providing expert legal advice, drafting documents and advocacy in Court.

You can instruct a Barrister to:

Provide you with expert legal advice about the merits and potential outcomes in your case.
Assist you to draft correspondence and in some circumstances, corresponding on your behalf.
Help to draft statements from litigants and witnesses and in some circumstances, investigate and collect evidence on your behalf.
Draft formal Court documents.
Advise you on suitable experts and draft instructions to expert witnesses.
Offer you advice on the next steps to be taken in proceedings.
Assist you in trying to resolve your case without going to Court (e.g. by way of mediation or other form of alternative dispute resolution).
Represent you in Court.

Unless authorised to conduct litigation, unlike Solicitors, our Barristers cannot:

Issue or serve Court documents on your behalf.
Handle client money.
Instruct an expert witness on your behalf.

The first step will be to complete our enquiry form and return it to [email protected].

Following receipt, one of the Clerks will contact you, either by telephone or by e-mail.

The Clerks will run through your enquiry form and advise you of your best options, if public access is right for your circumstances, you will be asked to send the Barrister more detailed information about your case so that they can review your instructions and provide a quote for the work required.

For the guidance notes please click here.

In some circumstances, a Barrister will be required by law to carry out identification procedures. Whether these procedures apply will be considered by the Barrister following your initial contact. If it does apply, the Barrister will require proof of your identity i.e. proof of your name, date of birth and current address. If you are acting on behalf of a company, you will be required to produce a certified copy of Certificate of Incorporation, the latest accounts filed at Companies House and evidence that you are authorised to act on behalf of that company.

If you are not satisfied with the service of your Barrister or Guildhall Chambers, you should first refer the matter to chambers in line with the chambers complaints procedure. If you would like a copy of the complaints procedure, please contact [email protected].

If you are not happy with the Barrister’s or Chambers’ reply then you can contact the Legal Ombudsman (as long as you complain to the Legal Ombudsman within 12 months of discovering that there was a problem).

The contact details are as follows:

Office of the Legal Ombudsman
3rd Floor
Sunlight House
Quay Street
Manchester
M3 3JZ

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 0161 839 7262
Lo-call no: 0845 601 0794 (charged at local rates – available nationally)

Alternatively you can contact the Bar Council online.

Please see the guidance in our transparency document available here, for further information including on the fees payable when a Barrister is instructed on a direct access basis.

Further information sheets are provided here in relation to direct access work concerning:

Summary only motoring offences;
Employment tribunal work (in relation to unfair and wrongful dismissal cases);
Inheritance Act advices (where the value of the estate is less than £300,000);
Winding-up petitions

Public Access Barristers

Richard Smith KC

Call 1986 | Silk 2001

Andrew Langdon KC

Call 1986 | Silk 2006

Christopher Quinlan KC

Call 1992 | Silk 2011

Ray Tully KC

Call 1987 | Silk 2021

Ian Fenny

Call 1978

William Batstone

Call 1982

John Virgo

Call 1983

David Scutt

Call 1989

Nicholas Smith

Call 1990

Virginia Cornwall

Call 1990

Peter Binder

Call 1991

Mark Worsley

Call 1994

Richard Ascroft

Call 1995

Debbie Grennan

Call 1997

Fergus Currie

Call 1997

Julian Allsop

Call 1999

Martin Lanchester

Call 2001

Allan Roberts

Call 2004

Susan Cavender

Call 2004

Oliver Manley

Call 2005

Samuel Jones

Call 2008

James Wibberley

Call 2009

Gregory Gordon

Call 2010

James Fuller

Call 2020

For help or advice please call 0117 930 9000 or complete the form below.

A member of the clerking team will help you resolve your request.

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Frequently asked questions

If you have any queries about the services offered by Guildhall Chambers you are invited to contact the clerks at:

[email protected] or [email protected]. If you would prefer to telephone then please call 0117 930 9000 (the telephone number for the London office is 020 3709 9100).

The following are invited to contact the clerks (as above) for our barristers’ services:

Solicitors;
Licensed Access clients, who may hold a licence issued by the Bar Standards Board, or be a members of a professional body which has been recognised by the Bar Standards Board; and
Members of the public who wish to instruct a barrister under the Public Access scheme.

We will provide you with a quote as soon as possible and, unless you are informed otherwise, within 14 days. If your matter is urgent please specify this when contacting chambers, and we will work to expedite your query. Guildhall Chambers are used to receiving and responding to work on an urgent basis.

Our barristers act both in advising clients and in representing clients in court. Barristers from Guildhall Chambers appear at all levels of the civil and criminal courts, including the Magistrates’ Court, the Crown Court, the County Court, the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

Our barristers act in criminal work for the Crown Prosecution Service (hereafter ‘CPS’) and other prosecuting agencies, as well as for Defendants, at all stages in the criminal justice process.

In civil work, our barristers act for both Claimants and Defendants at all levels of the civil justice system.

We also act for public bodies (particularly in Court of Protection work). Some of our members are members of the Attorney General’s Panel Scheme, which means that they can be instructed to act for the government.

Members of chambers also act for clients in cases heard in the Land Tribunal and in the Employment Tribunal.

If you have any questions about whether a barrister from Guildhall Chambers is able to represent you or has experience in representing clients in a particular area of law, or in a particular tribunal or court, then please do not hesitate to contact the clerks.

Public Access (also known as Direct Access)

If you are a member of the public, the Bar Standards Board’s Public Access Guidance for Law Clients is available here.

This guidance will help you to understand how the Public Access scheme works and explains how you can use it to instruct barristers directly.

Please note not all of our barristers act on a public access basis. Please check with the clerks and on the Public Access page on our website to see which barristers are able to act on a direct / public access basis.

We have barristers who are able to provide services on a public access basis including in the following areas:

What are the levels of fees to be charged for Public Access work?

Guildhall Chambers provides further information on the likely level of fees to be charged for specific areas of work if the barrister is instructed on a Public access basis. We provide this information in relation to work on a Public Access basis for:

Summary only motoring offences;
Employment tribunal work (in relation to unfair and wrongful dismissal cases);
Inheritance Act advices (where the value of the estate is less than £300,000);
Winding-up petitions

Please click on the relevant area to find out more information about the likely level of fees for the services of our barristers in these areas. This information is also available in hard copy format.

Please note that all of the above indicative fee information is still dependent upon the usual factors which may increase (or in some circumstances decrease) the likely cost of the barrister’s services.

Please read this information when considering the range of likely fees in these areas of Public Access work. For the most accurate information on the potential fees involved in your case, please contact the clerks.

If I instruct a barrister on a Direct Access basis, will there be any additional costs to pay or just the barrister’s fee?

It is also important to note that in relation to direct access work there may be costs, fees and/or charges which you will have to pay in addition to the fees which are payable to the barrister. In order to find out more about what (if any) additional costs arise, it is sensible to discuss this with the clerks (or the barrister who you instruct) at the outset.

Examples of additional charges which may be payable in addition to the direct access barrister’s fee include:

Court fees. Whether a court fee is payable (and how much that court fee will be) will depend on the circumstances of your case albeit in many (but not all) cases the value of the remedy which you are seeking will be a key factor;
There may occasionally be charges for photocopying and/or bundle preparation;

Barristers in the following teams most often charge on the following basis for the following areas of work (in each instance please contact the clerks to check that this system of charging will be applicable for your case):

Administrative and Public Law work is most often charged (or calculated) on the basis of an hourly rate.
Court of Protection work is most often charged (or calculated) on the basis of an hourly rate.
Clinical negligence and personal injury work is most often charged (or calculated) on the basis of an hourly rate.
Commercial work is most often charged (or calculated) on the basis of an hourly rate.
Costs and litigation funding work is most often charged (or calculated) on the basis of an hourly rate.
Criminal work on a private basis (where the client is not eligible for legal aid) is normally charged (or calculated) on the basis of an hourly rate fixed fee.
Employment and discrimination work is most often charged (or calculated) on the basis of an hourly rate for advisory work. Representation in court is most often charged on the basis of a fixed fee.
Insolvency work is most often charged (or calculated) on the basis of an hourly rate.
International and offshore work is most often charged (or calculated) on the basis of an hourly rate.
Property and estates work is most often charged (or calculated) on the basis of an hourly rate.
Regulatory and disciplinary work is most often charged (or calculated) on the basis of an hourly rate.
Sport law work is most often charged (or calculated) on the basis of an hourly rate.

Please note that this is guidance for the approach which is taken in most cases in the relevant area of work. It does not preclude the barrister from charging fees on an hourly rate or a fixed fee basis (as appropriate) where the circumstances of the case, the work which the barrister is required to undertake, and the nature of the instructions best suit that model.

All fees are charged exclusive of VAT (where applicable).

Please contact the clerks in the first instance for information about fees and fee quotes because they will be able to provide you with the clearest information about what the services from barristers at Guildhall Chambers may cost. The clerks will also be able to provide you with information about what may cause any fee quote or estimates to vary. The clerks can only provide you with a quote based on the information which you provide to them, so please endeavour to provide a written summary of the important aspects of your case.

All quotes will be provided within a reasonable time, and in any event the clerks will aim to provide a quote within 14 days. If you require work urgently, please inform the clerks about this when seeking a quote.

We will always aim to set out quotes clearly, but if you receive your quote and there is something that you do not understand, please do not hesitate to contact the clerks. There is also an enquiry form on our website which allows you to provide the clerks with information for the purposes of generating a quote for your case.

Barristers in chambers can charge on an hourly rate basis or on the basis of a fixed fee. However, unless a fixed fee is set when a barrister initially receives instructions to undertake work on your behalf, then the barrister will work on an hourly rate basis.

Do barristers at Guildhall Chambers work on a “no win, no fee” basis? Can I fund my case with legal insurance?

Our barristers will also accept instructions under conditional fee arrangements (colloquially known as ‘no win, no fee’ arrangements) however the barrister is not obliged to agree to work on this basis and will have to enter into a written agreement to that effect in order to do so. Please contact the clerks in order to discuss whether this is an arrangement which you would like to explore in the circumstances of your case.

If you have any queries about whether you have legal insurance available to you to cover your costs and/or provide funding in relation to your legal costs then please read the guidance provided by Legal Choices at https://www.legalchoices.org.uk/legal-choices/money-talks/after-the-event-insurance/.

Do any of the barristers at Guildhall Chambers work without requiring a fee?

Some barrister will work without requiring a fee from their client (this is referred to as “pro bono” work). However, barristers are not required to act on this basis. If this is something which you are interested in for the purposes of your case, then please contact the clerks. Please note that pro bono work is normally provided through the Pro Bono ‘Advocate’ Scheme. For more information on that scheme please follow this link https://weareadvocate.org.uk/ or call 020 7092 3960.

Do barristers at Guildhall Chambers provide their services to clients who are funded by the Legal Aid Agency?

Barristers at Guildhall Chambers do provide their services to clients who are funded by the Legal Aid Agency. If you are unsure whether you are eligible for legal aid then please see the legal aid eligibility calculator at https://www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid.

Please note that barristers cannot do legal aid work unless they have been instructed by a solicitor. However, just because your case is eligible for legal aid funding does not mean that you cannot choose to proceed under Public Access scheme.

Timescales for a case may vary depending on factors such as the availability of the barrister, the type and the complexity of the case, the approach of the other side and court waiting times. Whilst all barristers will aim to complete any written and/or advisory services required on a case within 28 days this will not be possible in all cases. If there is a particular deadline then this must be raised and agreed with the barrister when any instructions are given to the barrister.

Please note that due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic many cases (both civil and criminal) have been delayed and there are significant backlogs in the system. Whilst this will not usually alter the timescales for the services which barristers at Guildhall Chambers will provide, it may mean that timescales given in relation to the progress of your case through the courts will be affected.

Whether the fees are to be charged on an hourly rate or a fixed fee basis there will be certain factors which may increase the level of work involved, and therefore the fees which are likely to be charged (or the number of hours involved). Those factors include:

The seniority of barrister required for your case. The more experienced the barrister (which is normally calculated on the number of years since they were called to the bar) the higher the likely level of fees to be charged.
The number of papers involved in the case and/or the complexity of the factual issues involved.
The time in which you require the work to be turned around and/or the services to be provided. More urgent work will often involve a higher level of fee (for example if this involves the barrister working over a weekend or prioritising your case over other work).
The amount of time that your case will require the barrister to be in court.
The amount of travel time required for the barrister to get to and from court. Travel time is usually charged at half the barrister’s hourly rate.
The complexity of the legal issues involved.
The significance of the case more generally, for example if the case has wider ramifications for the client generally and/or public or legal significance.

If you are concerned about the level of fees which may be involved in your case please inform the clerks at the earliest opportunity who will be able to discuss with the barrister how costs can be managed on the case.

Please not that fee indications are (unless expressly agreed otherwise) not “caps”, and if a barrister is required to do work on the case, then they will charge accordingly. We will always aim to inform you if the fees on the case are likely to exceed the fee quotes or estimates previously provided.

The best way to manage the level of the fees is to discuss the circumstances of your case (including any issues regarding fees) with the clerks when initially seeking to instruct a barrister.

Barristers at Guildhall Chambers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board (hereafter ‘BSB’). You can contact the BSB at 289-293 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7HZ or by telephone on 020 7611 1444. Please follow this link to the BSB website:
https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk.

If you are interested in seeing: (i) whether a barrister has a current practising certificate or (ii) whether a barrister has any disciplinary findings (which are published on the BSB website) then you can search the Barristers’ Register on the Bar Standards Board website here.

What is the complaints procedure at Guildhall Chambers, and do I have any further rights of redress if I am unhappy with how my complaint has been handled?

If you have any complaint about the services provided by a barrister at Guildhall Chambers, then please read our complaints procedure here or download a pdf copy here

Guildhall Chambers have premises in both London and Bristol. Please find the addresses for our offices below:

Bristol offices:

5-8 Broad Street
Bristol
BS1 2HG

23 Broad Street
Bristol
BS1 2HG

London office:

Central Court
Southampton Buildings
London
WC2A 1AL

It is advisable to contact the Bristol offices in the first instance, because Guildhall Chambers do not have a permanent staff presence at the London office (although calls will be forwarded from the London office). This does not inhibit barristers from Guildhall Chambers from representing London clients or in appearing very frequently in the courts in London.

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What Is Public Access?

What are the benefits of Public Access?

Frequently Asked Questions

Public Access Barristers

Richard Smith KC

Andrew Langdon KC

Christopher Quinlan KC

Ray Tully KC

Ian Fenny

William Batstone

John Virgo

David Scutt

Nicholas Smith

Virginia Cornwall

Peter Binder

Mark Worsley

Richard Ascroft

Debbie Grennan

Fergus Currie

Julian Allsop

Martin Lanchester

Allan Roberts

Susan Cavender

Oliver Manley

Samuel Jones

James Wibberley

Gregory Gordon

James Fuller

For help or advice please call 0117 930 9000 or complete the form below.

Frequently asked questions

Do barristers at Guildhall Chambers work on a “no win, no fee” basis? Can I fund my case with legal insurance?

Do any of the barristers at Guildhall Chambers work without requiring a fee?

Do barristers at Guildhall Chambers provide their services to clients who are funded by the Legal Aid Agency?

Guildhall Chambers

Expertise

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Careers

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What Is Public Access?

What are the benefits of Public Access?

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my case suitable for Public Access?

How much will it cost?

Why instruct a Barrister?

How do I instruct a Barrister under Public Access?

What if I have a complaint?

Where can I find some further information about Public Access and fees payable for work?

Public Access Barristers

For help or advice please call 0117 930 9000 or complete the form below.

Frequently asked questions

How do I contact chambers and your clerks?

What services do barristers from Guildhall Chambers provide?

What is Public Access (Direct Access)?

How are fees calculated for different areas of work?

How do quotes and fees at Guildhall Chambers work?

Do barristers at Guildhall Chambers work on a “no win, no fee” basis? Can I fund my case with legal insurance?

Do any of the barristers at Guildhall Chambers work without requiring a fee?

Do barristers at Guildhall Chambers provide their services to clients who are funded by the Legal Aid Agency?

Do you have timescales for the services which you provide?

What will increase the level of fees to be paid on a case?

Who regulates the barristers at Guildhall Chambers?

What is the complaints procedure at Guildhall Chambers?

Where is Guildhall Chambers based?

Guildhall Chambers

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