Case Management Hearing Barrister
Direct access counsel to draft your case summary, agree the witness statement timetable and address the judge at your case management hearing or case management conference. Fixed fee, agreed in writing, anywhere in England and Wales.
A case management hearing is the meeting at which the court decides how your dispute will actually be run. The judge will set the timetable for disclosure, fix when witness statements have to be exchanged, decide whether expert evidence is needed and, in most civil claims, list a trial window. The directions made at this one hearing govern the next six to twelve months of work. They are not a formality, and they are very difficult to revisit later without a good reason and a cost.
Clerk&Counsel is a clerking agency. We do not provide legal services ourselves. We place Public Access qualified counsel from the independent Bar, usually within twenty four to seventy two hours, for a fixed brief fee agreed in advance. Send your papers through this form and a clerk will respond within one working day.
If you would prefer to read the procedural background first, our client guide What is a case management hearing explains the case management conference, the directions questionnaire, the costs budgeting process and what to expect on the day. For trial advocacy after directions, see barrister for trial.
Send the pleadings, the last order and any draft directions. A clerk will come back with available counsel and a fixed brief fee.
Send a brief →Why the case management hearing matters more than people realise
In our experience, the cases that end up settled on sensible terms are almost always the cases where the directions made at the case management hearing were realistic. The cases that fall apart, that cost two or three times what they should, that end up with relief from sanctions applications and wasted costs orders, are usually the cases where someone agreed a timetable in court that they had no way of meeting once they got back to the office.
The other point that is often missed is the scope of disclosure. A loose order for standard disclosure across five years of email traffic can cost more than the claim is worth. Counsel will press, where appropriate, for issue based or model B disclosure under Practice Direction 57AD, and will explain to the judge why that proportionate approach is the right one for the dispute in front of them.
Witness statements are the other recurring issue. Most practitioners now work to a strict witness statement format under Practice Direction 57AC in the Business and Property Courts. The statement must be in the witness's own words, list the documents the witness has been shown and contain a signed certificate of compliance. Getting that wrong at the directions stage means a re-drafting exercise weeks before trial, at the worst possible moment.
On the day of the court hearing itself, counsel will normally arrive forty five minutes early to take instructions on any last minute issues, speak to the other side outside court and try to agree as much of the draft order as possible before going in. Judges expect that work to have been done. A direct access client who turns up alone, with no draft order and no agreed issues, is at a real disadvantage.
What we cover for the case management hearing
Case summary and list of issues
A short, neutral case summary and an agreed list of issues for the judge. Where the other side will not agree, counsel produces a competing draft.
Draft order and directions
A full draft order covering disclosure, witness statements, experts, ADR, pre-trial review and trial listing, written in the form the court expects.
Witness statement timetable
A realistic timetable for exchange, plus advice on Practice Direction 57AC compliance where the matter is in the Business and Property Courts.
Disclosure scope
Negotiating an issue based or model approach to disclosure under Practice Direction 57AD, or standard disclosure under CPR 31 where that still applies.
Costs and Case Management
Costs budgeting and the Precedent H argument at a CCMC, including phased budget challenges and assumptions.
Trial window
Securing a sensible trial window, the right time estimate and a pre-trial review date that protects the listing.
Frequently asked questions
What does a barrister do at a case management hearing?
Counsel arrives with a draft order, a short note on the issues and a realistic view on the directions the court is likely to make. The barrister narrows what is actually in dispute, agrees a sensible timetable for witness statements, disclosure and expert evidence with the other side wherever possible, and addresses the judge on anything that remains contested. Most case management hearings last between thirty minutes and an hour, but the preparation that goes into them is what shapes the next six to twelve months of the case.
Do I need a barrister for a case management hearing if I am acting in person?
You do not have to instruct one, but the directions agreed at this hearing decide how the rest of the matter runs. Litigants in person are routinely asked questions about disclosure categories, the scope of witness evidence, whether expert evidence is needed and how a trial should be listed. Counsel handles that conversation in the language the judge expects, and protects you from agreeing a timetable that you cannot in practice keep.
How much does a barrister cost for a case management hearing?
A standard half day case management hearing in the County Court or Business and Property Courts is usually fixed between £900 and £1,800 plus VAT, depending on the size of the bundle and the value of the claim. A longer or more contested hearing, or a Costs and Case Management Conference with a costs budget to argue, generally falls between £1,800 and £3,500 plus VAT. The fee always covers reading the papers, drafting the case summary, attending the hearing and settling the order afterwards.
Can a direct access barrister attend a case management conference in the High Court?
Yes. Public Access counsel regularly conduct a case management conference in the Business and Property Courts, the Technology and Construction Court and the Commercial Court. For heavier matters with a substantial disclosure exercise, counsel will usually recommend instructing a litigation solicitor alongside, but the advocacy and drafting can be done direct.
What documents will counsel need before the hearing?
Pleadings, the most recent order, any disclosure already exchanged, the witness statements served to date, and a short note from you on what you want out of the hearing. If a costs budget is due, send the Precedent H. Counsel will produce the case summary, the list of issues and a draft order from those papers.
How quickly can you place counsel for a case management hearing?
Where the hearing is listed within ten working days, the clerks will normally identify available Public Access counsel within twenty four to forty eight hours. For longer notice, you can usually have a written quote and the client care letter the same working day.
Will the same barrister stay on the case after the case management hearing?
Yes, that is the normal arrangement under direct access. The barrister who agrees the directions and the witness statement timetable will, in almost every case, draft the pleadings amendments, settle the witness statements, attend any further interim hearings and conduct the trial. Continuity is one of the reasons direct access works well for case managed litigation.
What is the difference between a case management hearing and a case management conference?
In substance they are the same thing. The County Court tends to use case management hearing or CCMC. The High Court and the Business and Property Courts tend to use case management conference or CMC. Both deal with directions, disclosure, witness statements, experts and trial listing. Our article on what is a case management hearing explains the procedure in plain English.
Case management hearing in the diary?
Send the pleadings, the last order and the directions questionnaire. A clerk will respond within one working day with available counsel and a fixed brief fee.
Send a brief →