What is a Barrister?
A barrister is a type of lawyer. Barristers are a different profession than solicitors (who are also lawyers).
Barristers specialise in standing up in court rooms and representing one of the parties in a court case. This is called advocacy. They also advise clients about the strengths and weaknesses of their case (in meetings and in writing), and draft court documents.
Most barristers are self-employed and work out of an organisation with other self-employed barristers called a barristers’ chambers. Self-employed barristers are all independent from each other, and barristers from the same chambers will often be on the opposite sides of cases to other members of their own chambers.
What is a direct access barrister
It used to be the case that members of the public could not use a barrister without a solicitor being involved. Only solicitors could engage barristers to do some work for a client (this is known as “instructing” a barrister).
However, this has changed in recent years so that barristers are now able to take work from members of the public without the need for a solicitor. To do this, the barrister must be a member of the Bar Council’s Direct Access Scheme. The Bar Council is the body that is the regulator of barristers.
Where can you find a direct access barrister?
The Bar Council has an online portal where you can find direct access barristers and contact them. You can narrow your search by different areas of law, where the barrister is based, how expensive they are and how experienced they are.
