Articles & commentary
Practical guidance on instructing counsel — split by audience. Choose ‘For clients’ if you are dealing with a legal problem yourself, or ‘For professionals’ for analysis aimed at solicitors and in-house teams.
If you are facing a legal issue and want to instruct counsel direct.
Claims Against Directors After Insolvency: Wrongful Trading, Preferences and Misfeasance
After a company fails, the liquidator looks back. This guide explains wrongful trading, preferences, transactions at an undervalue, misfeasance and overdrawn loan accounts, and how directors defend them.
Director Disqualification Proceedings: How to Defend or Negotiate an Undertaking
Disqualification can last up to fifteen years and reaches far beyond company directorships. This guide explains the process, the grounds, and the choices between defending and giving an undertaking.
HMRC Winding Up Petitions: Options When the Tax Debt Is Disputed
HMRC is the most frequent petitioner in the winding up court. This guide covers Time to Pay, disputed assessments, the interaction with tax appeals and how to respond before advertisement.
Compulsory Liquidation Explained: What a Winding Up Order Means for Directors
A winding up order ends the company but not the questions. This guide explains what the Official Receiver does, how directors are investigated and what personal risks follow.
Statutory Demand: How to Respond and How to Set One Aside
A statutory demand is the first formal step towards bankruptcy or liquidation. The response deadlines are short and the grounds for setting one aside are specific. Here is how they work.
How to Stop a Winding Up Petition Against Your Company
A winding up petition can close a solvent business through the bank account rather than the courtroom. Here are the realistic ways to stop one, and the deadlines that decide whether they work.
Winding Up Petition Advice: What to Do If Your Company Receives a Petition
A winding up petition can force a company into compulsory liquidation. Learn how to respond, challenge the debt, stop advertisement and instruct an insolvency barrister through Clerk&Counsel.
How to Set Aside a CCJ
You can ask the court to set aside a County Court Judgment if you have a proper legal basis. This guide explains how the process works, when the court may grant the application, and how Direct Access can help.
How to resolve a business dispute without going to court
Most business disputes settle. The question is how much you spend first. Here is how to resolve a dispute cost effectively using ADR, from the first letter to a signed settlement.
Is ADR legally binding? Mediation agreements, arbitration awards and enforcement
Some ADR outcomes bind you the moment they are given. Others bind nobody until a document is signed. This guide explains which is which in England and Wales, and how each outcome is enforced.
Mediation vs arbitration: which is right for your dispute?
Mediation and arbitration are both forms of alternative dispute resolution, but only one ends in a binding decision imposed on you. Here is how to choose between them.
Types of ADR explained: the common forms of alternative dispute resolution
There are seven main types of ADR used in England and Wales. This guide explains each ADR method, whether it produces a binding decision, and which disputes it suits best.
What is alternative dispute resolution (ADR)?
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is any process that helps disputing parties resolve a dispute without a trial. Here is how ADR works in England and Wales, what it costs, and when it is the right choice.
What Does a Barrister Do?
A plain-English guide to what a barrister actually does in England and Wales, when you need one, and how to instruct one directly without going through a solicitor first.
How to Find a Barrister in the UK
A practical guide to finding a barrister in the UK — where to search, how to check they are properly authorised, and how to instruct one directly through Clerk&Counsel.
Do I Need a Barrister for the Employment Tribunal?
A practical guide to when you need a barrister at the employment tribunal — costs, self-representation, and how a direct access employment barrister can act for you without a solicitor.
How Much Does a Barrister Cost Per Hour in the UK?
A transparent guide to barrister fees in the UK — typical hourly rates by seniority and practice area, when fixed fees are cheaper, and how direct access reduces overall legal costs.
Can you go to court without a solicitor?
You do not need a solicitor to go to court. As a litigant in person you can represent yourself, but you can also use a direct access barrister for legal advice, drafting and advocacy.
How Much Does a Direct Access Barrister Cost?
A plain-English guide to direct access barrister costs. Understand fixed fees, hourly rates, and the factors that shape what you pay when instructing counsel under the Public Access scheme.
Do I Need a Barrister for a Final Hearing?
Final hearings in family court decide your case. Learn what happens, how to prepare, and why instructing a barrister through public access could improve your outcome.
How Much Does an FDR Hearing Barrister Cost?
Understanding legal costs for an FDR hearing in family law. We explain fixed fees, hourly rates, and what factors make a financial dispute resolution appointment more or less expensive.
What Is a Detailed Assessment Hearing?
A guide to detailed assessment hearings in the County Court and High Court, covering the notice of commencement, bill of costs, provisional assessment and the role of a costs judge.
What Is a Case Management Hearing?
If you are involved in court proceedings, you will probably come across a case management hearing. This article explains what it is, how to prepare, and why it matters.
What Is the Difference Between a Solicitor and a Barrister?
Understand the split between solicitors and barristers in England and Wales, and why a direct access barrister is often the cheaper option if you are facing court unrepresented.
How a Direct Access Employment Barrister Can Help You
When to instruct a direct access employment barrister for tribunal claims, settlement agreements, discrimination and unfair dismissal in the UK.
How a Direct Access Immigration Barrister Can Help You
When and how to instruct a direct access immigration barrister for appeals, judicial review and complex Home Office applications in the UK.
How a Direct Access Divorce Barrister Can Help You
A practical guide to instructing a direct access divorce barrister for financial remedy, child arrangements and contested divorce proceedings in England and Wales.
How a Direct Access Criminal Barrister Can Help You
A plain-English guide to instructing a direct access criminal barrister in England and Wales: what they do, what they cost, and when going direct saves you time and money.
How a Direct Access Probate Dispute Barrister Can Help You
A practical guide to instructing a direct access probate dispute barrister for will challenges, Inheritance Act 1975 claims and contested estates in England and Wales.