Chancery barristers in Brighton.
Specialist chancery counsel for trusts, estates, property and co-ownership disputes across Sussex, instructed directly or through your solicitor.
Brighton serves Sussex as a busy civil and chancery venue. The County Court on Edward Street hears probate, trust, property and insolvency business, and higher value chancery claims with a Sussex connection are issued in the Business and Property Courts in London.
Clerk&Counsel introduces independent chancery barristers, regulated by the Bar Standards Board, who appear in Brighton and in the chancery lists at Lewes, Hastings, Worthing and Chichester. We match the case to counsel with the right call and genuine availability, and every fee is agreed in writing before work begins.
Sussex property values drive much of the local chancery caseload. Flats and houses bought jointly by unmarried couples or friends, converted properties held in shares, estates swollen by decades of house price growth, and blended families where a later will cut out earlier children all lead to TOLATA, trust and probate claims.
Instructions come from Sussex solicitors who need counsel for advice, drafting or advocacy, and from clients instructing directly under the Public Access scheme. Where a solicitor is required on the record, we will tell you before you commit.
Work our counsel take on in Brighton.
- TOLATA and constructive trust claims between cohabitants, co-owners and friends.
- Contentious probate: will validity, capacity, undue influence and executor removal.
- Inheritance Act 1975 claims by spouses, cohabitants, adult children and dependants.
- Proprietary estoppel claims where promises about property were never recorded.
- Trust disputes: breach of trust, trustee removal and beneficiary accounts.
- Real property disputes: boundaries, easements, covenants, leases and service charges.
- Partnership and small company disputes, including unfair prejudice petitions.
- Professional negligence claims against solicitors, will writers and conveyancers.
Where Brighton cases are heard.
Chancery business in Sussex is heard at Brighton County Court on Edward Street, covering probate, trust, property and insolvency claims. Higher value chancery claims with a Sussex connection are issued in the Business and Property Courts in London at the Rolls Building.
- Brighton County Court, chancery and insolvency business
- Business and Property Courts in London, Rolls Building
- Lewes Combined Court Centre
- Hastings County Court
- Worthing and Chichester County Courts
Merits first, then strategy.
These disputes are document heavy and often personal, whether the argument is about an estate, a trust, a family home or a former business partner. The most valuable first step is usually a written advice on merits, evidence and realistic value. That advice tells you whether to fight, negotiate or step away, and it is far cheaper to learn that on paper than in a courtroom.
From there counsel can draft the letter before claim, particulars of claim or defence, advise on interim applications, and represent you at mediation, case management hearings and trial. Where urgent relief is needed to protect an asset or preserve evidence, we can normally move within days rather than weeks.
The courts expect parties to consider mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution, and refusing to engage can carry a costs penalty. Counsel can advise on when to make an offer, how to structure it and whether a mediator should be brought in, and our panel also includes mediators who take instructions in commercial, civil and inheritance disputes.
Written fixed fees, agreed before work begins.
Everything is quoted in writing before counsel starts. Advice, drafting and conference work are fixed against the papers. Hearings are quoted as a brief fee plus refreshers, so you know the cost of the day before the day arrives. For larger matters the instruction can be staged, taking advice on merits first, then on quantum, then on settlement, so you commit as the case develops rather than paying for a trial brief at the outset.
It is free to send an enquiry. If you choose to instruct through us, a Clerk&Counsel service fee of up to £150 applies depending on urgency, and it is shown separately from counsel's professional fee before you decide.
Instructing counsel in Brighton.
- Send a short outline of the dispute, the parties and any deadline or hearing date.
- We check conflicts and identify counsel with the right call, experience and availability.
- You receive counsel options with a written fee quote for the stage you need.
- Papers go to counsel, who advises, drafts or attends the hearing as instructed.
- Further stages are quoted separately, so there is no open ended commitment.
Specialist areas within this practice.
Tell us about your Brighton case.
Send a short outline of the assets, the parties and what has gone wrong. We will come back with counsel options, a written fee basis and a realistic first step.
Common questions.
Can I instruct a barrister in Brighton without a solicitor?
Yes. Many of the barristers we introduce accept Public Access instructions, which means you can instruct counsel directly for advice, drafting, negotiation and hearings. Where the case needs heavy disclosure, witness handling or court issue work, a solicitor may still be sensible, and some panel members hold a litigation extension allowing them to conduct litigation themselves. We will tell you which structure fits your case before you commit to anything.
How much does counsel cost for a case in Brighton?
Fees depend on seniority, complexity, the length of the hearing and how much preparation is needed. Written advice and drafting are quoted as fixed fees against the papers. Hearings are quoted as a brief fee plus refreshers for each additional day. Clerk&Counsel's service fee of up to £150 depending on urgency is shown separately from counsel's professional fee before you decide whether to proceed.
Will my case be heard at the Brighton County Court?
Usually, if the parties, the assets or the events have a connection with Brighton. Regional issue is often quicker and cheaper than London, and judges sitting in the regional Business and Property Courts hear the same class of work. Counsel will advise on forum, track and likely timetable before anything is issued, because those choices drive both cost and strategy.
How quickly can counsel be instructed?
For urgent matters such as an injunction, a caveat, a freezing order or a listed hearing with short notice, we can usually identify available counsel the same working day and have papers with them within twenty four hours. For advisory work the usual turnaround for a written advice is seven to fourteen days from receipt of a complete set of papers.