Specialist counsel,
cleanly clerked.
Clerk&Counsel is a modern clerking agency. We connect clients and solicitors with independent, BSB-registered barristers — and run a quiet, capable back office for the members of the Bar we work with.
Our role, clearly stated.
Clerk & Counsel is an intermediary and clerking service. We do not provide legal advice or legal representation. Barristers instructed through Clerk & Counsel are independent legal professionals and are responsible for the legal services they provide. Regulatory status is verified for each proposed instruction, including Bar Standards Board registration where applicable.
More than a
barrister directory.
A hands-on way to find counsel
Finding a barrister should not mean searching through dozens of profiles and trying to work out who might be able to help. Clerk & Counsel takes a more hands-on approach. Tell us what you need and we will look at the nature of the matter, the expertise required, availability and other relevant requirements to identify potentially suitable counsel within our network.
A more personal match
We do not expect you to already know which barrister you need. Our role is to understand the instruction first and then help identify appropriate counsel. Depending on the matter, we can consider:
- — the area of law and expertise required
- — the complexity of the matter
- — availability and urgency
- — the appropriate level of seniority
- — location
- — likely fees or budget
- — whether Direct Access authorisation is required
The final decision to instruct always remains with the client or instructing professional, and the barrister remains free to accept or decline an instruction.
For solicitors as well as Direct Access clients
Clerk & Counsel is not only for members of the public looking to instruct a barrister directly. We also work with solicitors and law firms that need counsel for hearings, conferences, specialist advice, drafting and other instructions. Instead of approaching multiple barristers or chambers individually, send us the details of the instruction and we can help identify appropriate and available counsel within our network. One brief. One clerk. The right counsel.
Working with chambers, not around them
Clerk & Counsel also works directly with barristers' chambers. Where a barrister is represented by chambers, we can liaise with their existing clerks regarding suitability, availability and fees. If an instruction proceeds, chambers can continue to manage the barrister and instruction in the usual way. Our role is to create another route through which new opportunities can reach barristers and chambers.
A growing network of legal specialists
Clerk & Counsel is building a network designed around what clients and legal professionals actually need rather than simply creating another list of barrister profiles. Alongside individual barristers, we work with chambers and other legal specialists, allowing us to develop a broader network through which suitable expertise can be identified.
Whether you are an individual looking for specialist advice, a business facing a dispute or a solicitor who needs counsel, the starting point is the same: tell us what you need and we will help you find the right expertise.
More direct access work.
Less marketing admin.
Join a growing network of specialist barristers. We market your expertise, generate Direct Access enquiries through our website, and support you with professional clerking and practice management technology.
Status checked for each instruction.
Panel barristers practise independently. We verify the regulatory status relevant to each proposed instruction, including Bar Standards Board registration where applicable.
A clerking agency, plainly stated.
Clerk&Counsel does not provide legal services. We clerk for the Bar — receiving instructions, matching them to counsel and handling the paperwork around them.
Direct access where suitable.
We will tell you, candidly, which route fits your matter — and decline cases that ought to go through a solicitor first.
Independent.
Genuinely.
- i.Fully autonomous. You stay self-employed and BSB-regulated. We clerk for you — we don't manage you.
- ii.Free to accept work from anywhere. Solicitors, other agencies, existing referrers — none of it is exclusive to us.
- iii.No chambers attendance. No building to sit in, no rota, no marshalling, no committee work.
- iv.No rent, no levy. No chambers rent, no fixed monthly contribution, no marketing tax — a single percentage on collected fees.
- v.No minimum hours. No billing targets, no minimum sittings. Practise as much, or as little, as you choose.
Instruct
counsel.
Tell us about the matter. We will quietly identify the right independent counsel and look after the engagement from first call to final fee note.
Send a brief→For members of the BarClerking
services.
Sourced instructions and business development — handled. Stay independent. Lose the back office.
See clerking services→Three steps,
start to instruction.
Brief us
Tell us the practice area, the urgency and the parties. Direct access or via your solicitor — both routes welcome.
We match
Our clerks identify suitable, available, BSB-registered counsel and come back with options and indicative fees.
Instruct
Engagement letter and conflict checks completed digitally. Counsel briefed and on the case.
Want us clerking
your practice?
We bring the work and run the back office on a single, transparent percentage. No annual subscription, no rent, no hidden marketing levy.
What Clerk&Counsel
is and is not.
- — A clerking agency for the independent Bar
- — An intake desk for clients and solicitors
- — Working only with BSB-registered counsel
- — A barristers' chambers
- — A firm of solicitors
- — Providers of legal advice ourselves
- — An online directory you book through unassisted