Members of the public can now instruct a barrister directly under ‘historic’ reforms which came into force this week.

Some 19 months after the Bar Council applied, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, has approved changes to its code of conduct so that barristers can provide their usual services of specialist advice, drafting and advocacy to the public without having to instruct a solicitor first.


> Anthony Speight QC, chairman of the access to the bar committee, said: ‘Clients will make the pleasant discovery that the hourly rates of barristers are lower than those of solicitors of comparable experience’.


Barristers will not be able to take on solicitors’ roles in the conduct of litigation, nor will direct access be permitted in criminal, family or immigration work. They can take instructions from intermediaries, such as an independent financial adviser seeking tax advice for a client.


> Only those barristers who have been in practice for three years and have completed a special training course will be able to take advantage of the scheme – more than 50 have already done so. The cab-rank rule does not apply, and barristers may not handle clients’ money.


Public access to barristers was allowed until the 1950s. Mr Speight said: ‘This is a historic and exciting development which will make legal services cheaper. Direct public access will suit businesses, and individuals who do not need the administrative services of a law firm.


> ‘Moreover, as the civil procedure reforms lead more disputes to be resolved by pre-action correspondence, there is a growing opportunity for clients to achieve a dispute resolution with the assistance of a barrister and without the cost of a solicitor.’


Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said: ‘The Society supports moves to widen choice for consumers of legal services. However, whatever the model for delivering legal services, it is essential that the public is properly protected when things go wrong.’


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