Insights

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:

• Crime
• Property, Trusts & Estates
• Employment & Discrimination
• Commercial
• Insolvency

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;

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.

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.