FDR Hearing Direct Access Barrister
Instruct a barrister directly for your FDR hearing under the Bar Standards Board Public Access scheme. A specialist family finance advocate to prepare the papers and represent you in court, on a written fixed fee agreed in advance.
The financial dispute resolution appointment is the moment in a financial remedy case where most matters either settle or get a clear steer on what the court is likely to do. It is also the hearing where good preparation and a confident advocate make the biggest difference. Under the Public Access scheme you can instruct a barrister directly to prepare the papers and represent you in court at the FDR, without paying for a solicitor to sit in between.
Our family law panel includes senior juniors who do nothing but financial remedy work. They will take the case from the moment Form E is exchanged, draft the questionnaire, agree the schedule of assets, prepare the section 25 analysis and put together a focused position statement for the FDR judge. On the day, they conduct the negotiations in the corridor and then convert any agreement into signed heads of agreement before you leave the building.
Everything is done on a fixed fee. The fee quote is agreed in advance, set out in the client care letter required by the Bar Standards Board, and there are no additional costs unless the scope changes. To get a quote, send the disclosure to our clerking team through this short form and we will come back within one working day.
Send both parties' Form E, any questionnaire replies and any pension or business valuations. A clerk will revert with a fixed fee, the brief fee and counsel's availability for the listed date.
Send a brief →From initial consultation to the hearing itself
Initial consultations are usually held by video and run for about an hour. Counsel uses the time to take the history, walk through the asset base, identify the live issues and tell you, candidly, what a court is likely to do on the numbers. If you decide to instruct on that call, the clerks issue the client care letter, the Public Access notice and the fixed fee agreement that day.
Counsel then drafts the position statement, finalises the schedule of assets, prepares the section 25 analysis and files the FDR bundle in line with the directions order. If an updated single joint expert valuation is needed, the clerks instruct on your behalf and fold any uplift into a transparent revised fee quote rather than open ended hourly rates.
On the day of the FDR, the same barrister meets you at court, makes submissions to the judge, takes the indication and then conducts the negotiations. If the matter settles, the heads of agreement are drafted and signed before you leave. If it does not, counsel will provide written advice within forty eight hours on the issues for the final hearing and what additional evidence is required.
What the fixed fee covers
Initial consultations
A one hour video conference to take the history, review the disclosure and give first views before any longer instruction is confirmed.
Paperwork and analysis
Form E analysis, the questionnaire, schedule of assets, section 25 analysis and the FDR position statement, all prepared by the barrister who will conduct the hearing.
Bundle and directions
Compliance with the FDR directions, the indexed bundle and any without prejudice offers and counter offers in advance of the appointment.
Representation at court
Counsel to represent you in court at the FDR, take the judicial indication and conduct the negotiations with the other side's representative.
Heads of agreement
Drafting and signing of heads of agreement on the day if the matter settles, with the consent order and statement of information to follow within seven days.
Written advice if no settlement
If no agreement is reached, written advice on the merits, the issues for the final hearing and the next procedural steps within forty eight hours.
Frequently asked questions
Can I instruct a barrister directly for an FDR hearing?
Yes. Under the Bar Standards Board Public Access scheme any member of the public can instruct a barrister directly for an FDR hearing without going through a solicitor first. The barrister has to hold a current Public Access registration with the Bar Standards Board, which all of the counsel on our family law panel do. Most clients now use the scheme for the FDR because it removes a layer of cost and the barrister doing the negotiating is the same person who has read the papers from day one.
How much does it cost?
We work on a fixed fee that is agreed in advance and confirmed in writing in the client care letter before any work begins. There are no hourly rates running in the background and no additional costs unless the scope of work actually changes. A typical FDR brief fee with a Public Access barrister falls between £1,800 and £4,500 plus VAT depending on the size of the asset base, the complexity of the pension position and the volume of disclosure. We will provide a fee quote within one working day of seeing Form E.
Is legal aid available for an FDR?
Legal aid for financial remedy work was removed in April 2013 for all but a narrow category of cases involving evidenced domestic abuse. The overwhelming majority of FDR clients now self fund, and Public Access is the most cost effective route because there is no solicitor mark up on counsel's fee. Where legal aid may be available we will tell you so and signpost you to a firm that holds a contract.
Will the same barrister represent me on the day?
Yes. Continuity is one of the main reasons people choose Public Access. The barrister who reads Form E, drafts your position statement and prepares your section 25 analysis is the same person who will represent you in court at the FDR, conduct the negotiations and, if no agreement is reached, see the matter through to the final hearing.
For the privately arranged alternative to the court FDR see our private financial dispute resolution barrister page, and for the wider procedure visit direct access divorce barristers and family barristers. Public Access barristers in England and Wales operate under the Bar Standards Board Public Access scheme and our access barristers are all currently registered.
Instruct counsel for your FDR
Send the Form E, any questionnaire replies and the directions order. Our clerking team will respond within one working day with counsel availability and a written fixed fee quote.
Send a brief →