A barrister can provide expert legal opinion and advice, draft legal documents, attend court as your advocate and represent you at a mediation or arbitration. Barristers are experts in the law and provide a high level of skill when advocacy is required to present your case to a Court or Tribunal. Most barristers do not conduct litigation but, if required, we are able to provide some who are now approved to do so by the Bar Standards Board. We can advise who is best placed to help you once we have reviewed your enquiry.

Legal aid can help pay for legal advice, family mediation or representation in court or at a tribunal. You’ll be asked general questions about your legal problem and your financial situation.

All information submitted to the Clerksroom Direct portal is confidential and highly secure. You will receive an automated email response to your enquiry asking you to verify your email address. Once confirmed, you will have a secure link to the portal and only you and your chosen barrister will have access to the information provided. Your details will never be disclosed to a third party without your prior agreement, nor will you receive unsolicited communications from Clerksroom Direct. Clerksroom Direct holds a valid secure site certificate.

Barristers are remarkably cost-effective due to their low overheads. Our barristers mainly work from home which helps to reduce costs further. Many people who have instructed barristers directly have commented favourably regarding the cost of doing so. There is no duplication of work, therefore costs are not duplicated. Barristers' fees are often up to 42% cheaper than solicitors’ fees.

Most barristers will be happy to provide a fixed fee quote or work to a budget as set by you. Please don’t be afraid to ask if a piece of work can be completed for a set price. We welcome the challenge.

Clerksroom Direct offers the opportunity to create a free account, log in and browse the profiles of over 1000 Public Access accredited barristers located in England and Wales. We offer full national coverage for all civil courts in England and Wales. You search profiles and review the information provided, preselect up to three barristers and then either invite the barristers to provide a fee quote for your enquiry or suggest a fee and see if the barrister is willing to do it for the fee you propose. Barristers will contact you through the portal to say they either accept, reject or wish to quote a different fee. You remain in total control of the service via your login. Once you accept a quote, payment is made via our online card payment system and the barrister is then committed to the fee and timescale you have agreed. If you have any questions, please do let us know. Once agreed between you and the barrister, the barrister will issue a client care letter setting out the fees, timescale and terms on which the service is offered. Once accepted by you, prepayment is requested using our secure online payment portal. As soon as the barrister has agreed the terms with you and payment has been made, the barrister will undertake the work requested.

You deal directly with the barrister and you will be able to discuss the matter by phone, email, Skype or any other agreed method. Dealing directly with a barrister tends to be much quicker than going through a solicitor as the only parties involved are you and your barrister. A normal turnaround time for legal advice is seven days but it can be far quicker if needed.

Barristers are legal experts who normally specialise in a limited range of areas of law. Using an expert means you have the right answer quickly.

The rules governing the instruction of barristers changed in 2004 to allow members of the public to instruct directly. Most barristers do not want to deal with clients directly, preferring the traditional route of working with solicitors. This has meant that little advertising has been undertaken to market the service directly to private or business clients which has resulted in limited media publicity. We continue to work with approximately 20,000 solicitors in England and Wales but we also welcome the opportunities provided by the Public Access rules.