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.
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.