Your role

It is vital to understand that if you instruct a barrister on a direct access basis, the barrister will not be doing the job of a solicitor – you will!

If you are involved in litigation, you will be acting as a “litigant in person”: the barrister does not “go on the court record” as acting for you, as a solicitor might do. You will be the point of contact for correspondence, you will be responsible for administrative tasks such as organising your own papers, and you will be responsible for taking steps in litigation such as issuing proceedings or serving documents.

Direct access barrister McKenzie Friend

Because you will be carrying out that role, I am required, at the outset, and throughout my involvement in your case, to consider whether it is in your best interests for you to instruct a barrister in this way. If, for example, I consider that you do not have the time to handle correspondence, or if I think that the case is too complex for you to run without the assistance of a solicitor, I will tell you, and may be able to assist you in finding a suitable solicitor to instruct.

Legal Notice

The material on this site is for general information only and is not legal advice. No liability is accepted for any loss or damage which may result from reliance on it. Always consult a qualified lawyer about a specific legal problem. 

All original material on this site is © Stephen Innes and may not be produced without permission.

Neither the submission of any enquiry to Stephen Innes by a user of this site, nor any contact between Stephen Innes and a user of the site, whether written, electronic, oral, telephonic or otherwise will give rise to a retainer, duty of care or liability of any kind (including for loss or damages) to the user of the site, even if Stephen Innes has been advised of the possibility of such damages or such damages are foreseeable. Accordingly, and notwithstanding the submission of any enquiry to or any contact with Stephen Innes, all users of the site remain wholly responsible for complying with any limitation deadline (including but not limited to any statutory or contractual limitation deadline) for issuing any court proceedings, as well as complying with all directions, orders and notices issued by the court.

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