A direct access barrister is one who can take instructions straight from a member of the public, without a solicitor acting as intermediary. The formal name for the scheme is public access, and a barrister may only offer it after completing Bar Standards Board approved training, notifying the Bar Council’s Records Office and holding the required insurance.
The scheme is now an established route to the Bar rather than a curiosity. What follows sets out what a direct access barrister can and cannot do, what the rules require on both sides, and where the model works badly as well as where it works well.
Direct access, public access, licensed access
Three terms circulate and they are not synonyms.
Public access is the scheme’s proper name in the BSB Handbook. It allows a barrister to accept instructions from or on behalf of a lay client.
Direct access is the same thing in ordinary usage. Chambers and clients use it interchangeably with public access, and nothing turns on the difference.
Licensed access is a separate scheme. It allows certain organisations and professionals, rather than the general public, to instruct counsel directly, and it operates under its own rules.
One structural point worth knowing: the Public and Licensed Access Rules apply to self-employed barristers. They do not apply in the same way to BSB-regulated entities, which may already include solicitors entitled to take instructions from the public.
What a direct access barrister does, and does not, do
Public access does not widen the range of work a barrister may undertake. A barrister instructed directly performs the same functions they would perform if instructed by a solicitor: advising, drafting, negotiating and appearing as an advocate.
What changes is who does everything else. In a conventional case the solicitor conducts the litigation: issuing proceedings, filing and serving documents, corresponding with the other side, managing the evidence. A public access client is generally expected to carry out those steps themselves, as a litigant in person, with the barrister advising on what needs doing.
Two restrictions matter in practice. A barrister cannot conduct litigation unless separately authorised to do so. A self-employed barrister may apply for an extension to their practising certificate for that purpose, and where it is granted the client need not act as a litigant in person on those steps. Without it, that work stays with the client.
A barrister also cannot hold client money except as payment of their own fees. That has a practical consequence people often miss: the barrister cannot pay court fees or other disbursements on the client’s behalf. The client pays those directly.
What a barrister must do before accepting direct instructions
The requirements sit in the Public Access Rules in the Code of Conduct section of the BSB Handbook, and the BSB publishes guidance alongside them. Before accepting public access work a barrister must hold a full practising certificate, have completed a Bar Standards Board approved public access training course, notify the Bar Council’s Records Office of the intention to undertake such work, and hold appropriate insurance. Cover through the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund satisfies the insurance requirement.
A waiver from the training requirement is available but must be applied for, and it is aimed at barristers who can demonstrate substantial experience of dealing directly with clients, for instance in a solicitors’ firm.
There is an additional requirement for the newly qualified. A barrister of less than three years’ standing may undertake public access work only with a qualified person readily available to give guidance, and for these purposes that qualified person must themselves be public access accredited. This is a narrower requirement than the general qualified person rule, and it is one of the more commonly misunderstood parts of the scheme.
Assessing whether a case is suitable
The judgement that carries the most professional risk is whether to accept the instruction at all.
The barrister must consider whether the case is appropriate for public access, which turns substantially on whether the client can realistically carry out the work a litigator would otherwise do. A client who cannot manage disclosure, meet directions or handle correspondence with the other side is not well served by the model, however much they wish to avoid solicitors’ fees.
The Code of Conduct also prohibits accepting instructions where the barrister lacks sufficient experience or competence for the matter, and the BSB’s guidance is explicit that dealing directly with a lay client can be more demanding than working through a professional client. A barrister who would have taken the case from a solicitor may still be right to decline it on public access.
Where a client may be eligible for legal aid, they must be in a position to make an informed choice about it. The scheme has been widened so that eligibility for public funding does not itself preclude public access, but the client needs to understand what they are giving up.
Client care obligations are formal, not merely good practice. The rules require the client to be notified in writing of the terms on which the barrister is instructed, and the BSB publishes a model client care letter covering the work to be done, the cost and the payment mechanism.
Costs, and why the saving is not automatic
The attraction for clients is straightforward: removing one set of professional fees. For a discrete piece of work, an advice, a drafted document, a single hearing, the saving can be substantial and the scope is easy to define.
The saving is less reliable across a full contested case. Work that a solicitor would have absorbed does not disappear; it transfers to the client, and where the client cannot do it the case can stall or require a solicitor to be brought in later, sometimes at greater overall cost. Barristers commonly work on public access matters in defined stages, quoting for each piece of work rather than the case as a whole, which suits the scheme’s structure but means a client should understand what is and is not covered at each stage.
What it means for chambers
For a set, public access changes the commercial relationship rather than simply adding a revenue line.
The client relationship becomes direct, which brings both the fee and the administrative burden that a solicitor previously carried: taking initial enquiries, client care correspondence, chasing payment, and managing the expectations of a lay client who has never instructed counsel before. Clerks absorb a great deal of that, and the demands differ from conventional clerking. A set considering public access seriously is making a decision about staffing and process, not only about accepting a different kind of instruction.
There is a reputational dimension too. Public access clients are consumers of legal services and behave like consumers, including in how they respond when a case goes badly. That sits alongside the ordinary position that members of a chambers are self-employed and independent of one another, so complaints attach to the individual barrister rather than to the set in the way a client might expect of a firm.
It is worth being candid about the evidence base. Public access is widely described as growing, and the direction is not seriously disputed, but reliable published data on volumes, fee levels and outcomes across the Bar is thin. Claims about fee compression or market share in this area are usually inference rather than measurement, and are better treated as such.
How a client can check a barrister
Anyone instructing directly should confirm two things. First, that the barrister holds a current practising certificate, which can be checked on the Barristers’ Register maintained by the Bar Standards Board. Second, that they are registered for public access work, since not every practising barrister is.
Clients should also establish at the outset whether the barrister is authorised to conduct litigation, because that single point determines how much of the case management falls to them.
This article is information and analysis, not legal advice. Whether public access is suitable in a particular matter is a judgement for the barrister instructed, applying the BSB Handbook and the guidance in force at the time.
Frequently asked questions
What is a direct access barrister?
A direct access barrister is one who can accept instructions directly from a member of the public without a solicitor. The scheme’s formal name is public access, and a barrister must complete BSB-approved training, notify the Bar Council’s Records Office and hold appropriate insurance before offering it.
Can any barrister take direct instructions?
No. A barrister must hold a full practising certificate, have completed approved public access training or obtained a waiver, and have notified the Bar Council. Barristers of less than three years’ standing also need a qualified person, who must themselves be public access accredited, readily available to give guidance.
Is direct access cheaper than instructing a solicitor?
It can be, because it removes one set of professional fees, and the saving is clearest on discrete pieces of work. Across a full contested case the position is less certain, because work a solicitor would have done transfers to the client rather than disappearing.
Can a direct access barrister conduct litigation?
Only if separately authorised. A self-employed barrister may apply to extend their practising certificate to conduct litigation. Without that authorisation, the client is generally expected to handle filing, service and correspondence as a litigant in person.
Can a direct access barrister hold my money or pay court fees?
No, other than in payment of their own fees. Because barristers cannot hold client money, they cannot make disbursements such as court fees on a client’s behalf, and the client pays those directly.
What is the difference between public access and licensed access?
Public access allows members of the public to instruct a barrister directly. Licensed access is a separate scheme under its own rules, permitting certain organisations and professionals, rather than the general public, to instruct counsel without a solicitor.
How do I check a barrister is registered for public access?
Practising status can be confirmed on the Barristers’ Register maintained by the Bar Standards Board. Public access registration should be confirmed with the barrister or their clerks before instructing.
Related reading
- Barrister code of conduct: CD1 to CD10 explained
- The future of advocacy: are traditional chambers models still sustainable?
- What is a door tenant? Chambers membership explained
- The UK court hierarchy explained
Analysis for the practising Bar. The Barrister News newsletter covers chambers, regulation and practice. Subscribe for insight written for the profession.