How to get more work as a direct access barrister.
Public access authorisation is the easy part. The hard part is a reliable flow of clients who can pay, who have a case worth taking, and who arrive already understanding what a barrister can and cannot do for them.
Most barristers complete the Bar Standards Board public access course, notify the BSB through MyBar, build a client care letter template, and then wait. The authorisation sits on the Barristers' Register and produces almost nothing for the first year, because nothing about the qualification tells a member of the public that you exist or that instructing counsel directly is even an option available to them.
The practitioners who build a full direct access practice do three things consistently. They make their availability visible where people search, they respond fast enough to convert an enquiry before the client instructs someone else, and they price the work in a way a lay client can actually agree to on the phone. None of that is talent. It is process, and it is the part of practice nobody teaches at Bar school.
Clerk&Counsel is a clerking agency and a trading style of Found First Digital Ltd. We market for direct access work across England and Wales, qualify the enquiry before it reaches you, and pass it to a panel member who can take it. Instructions run directly between you and the lay client. There is no chambers rent and no marketing levy.
Get the compliance and the paperwork out of the way first.
- Complete the BSB approved public access course and notify the Board through MyBar before you accept a first instruction.
- If you are within three years of call, arrange a qualified person and complete the new practitioner element.
- Build a client care letter from the current Bar Council model and adapt the litigation carve-out case by case.
- Decide your money handling route: bill in arrears, or use BARCO or a similar escrow facility for fees in advance.
- Keep a simple register of every enquiry accepted or declined so conflict checks take seconds rather than an afternoon.
- Consider whether to apply separately for litigation authorisation. It widens the pool of instructions you can accept considerably.
Where direct access enquiries actually come from.
Search is the dominant channel. Lay clients type phrases such as direct access barrister, barrister without a solicitor, or barrister for a final hearing, and they instruct from the first two or three results they trust. A chambers profile buried three clicks deep on a site that ranks for nothing will not find them. This is why almost every barrister who reports a steady public access practice is either being marketed by somebody, or has spent years building a personal referral base.
Word of mouth from previous clients is the highest quality source but the slowest to build, and it is lumpy. Direct access clients tend to be in a single dispute once in their lives, so they refer rarely and unpredictably. Treat it as compounding background income rather than the foundation of a practice.
Introducers and lead generation services supply volume. The value is not just the enquiry, it is the qualification: whether the hearing date is real, whether the client understands they are paying privately, whether the papers exist, and whether the case actually needs counsel or needs an advice agency. An unqualified enquiry costs you twenty minutes; a qualified one converts.
Why enquiries go cold, and how to stop it.
Speed is the single biggest determinant of conversion in direct access work. A lay client with a hearing in three weeks is anxious and is contacting several people at once. A reply within the hour converts at multiples of a reply the next day. If you cannot answer while you are in court, the enquiry needs to reach somebody who can hold the client, take the outline and book the call.
The second issue is pricing. Lay clients cannot evaluate an hourly rate because they have no idea how many hours anything takes. Fixed fees per defined stage, quoted in writing, remove the objection entirely. A typical structure is a fee for the papers and a written advice, a fee for a conference, and a fee for attendance at the hearing with a refresher for a second day.
The third is scope. Being explicit about what you are not doing protects the relationship and your regulatory position. Say plainly that you cannot conduct litigation unless you hold the authorisation, that the client remains responsible for filings and correspondence with the court, and that you will tell them if the case grows beyond what direct access can sensibly carry.
How the panel works.
We generate the enquiries, take the initial details, confirm the client understands the fee basis, and then place the matter with a panel member whose practice, court and availability fit. You receive an outline of the case before you accept anything, and you are free to decline.
There is no rent, no minimum commitment and no marketing charge. Fees are agreed with the client in the usual way and the clerking support covers scheduling, chasing papers and the administrative traffic that otherwise eats the hours between hearings.
Practitioners who join the panel typically report their first instruction inside two to four weeks, and a settled flow within a quarter, depending on practice area and the courts they will travel to.
Specialist areas within this practice.
Public access authorised and want the phone to ring?
Apply to the panel and a clerk will come back within two working days with the enquiry volume we currently see in your practice area and the courts you cover.
Common questions.
How long does it take to build a direct access practice?
With marketing behind you, most practitioners see instructions within weeks and a settled flow within three to six months. Working from word of mouth alone it commonly takes two to three years to reach the same volume, because the referral base has to accumulate one satisfied client at a time.
Do I need litigation authorisation to take direct access work?
No, but it widens what you can accept. Without it you can advise, draft, negotiate and appear, while the client remains the litigant in person responsible for filing and service. With it you can run the claim end to end, which many clients prefer and will pay more for.
What should I charge a direct access client?
Quote fixed fees for defined stages rather than an hourly rate. Lay clients cannot budget against an hourly rate and will hesitate. Attendance at a short hearing commonly starts around a four figure sum and rises with length, complexity and preparation, and staged payment in advance of each stage is standard practice.
How do I avoid unsuitable direct access cases?
Screen for three things: whether the case needs conduct of litigation you are not authorised for, whether the client can give clear instructions, and whether the disclosure and witness burden really needs a solicitor. Declining early is both commercially sensible and regulatory hygiene under the BSB Handbook.
Does Clerk&Counsel take a cut of my fees?
We are a clerking agency and our commercial terms are set out plainly when you apply. There is no chambers rent, no marketing levy and no minimum volume commitment, and you agree your own fee with the client on every instruction.
Can I join if I am junior?
Yes. We place juniors on hearings, advice and paperwork that suit their year of call, and juniors within three years of call can take public access work with a qualified person in place and the additional training element completed.