Who Can Instruct Us

Members of Chambers take instructions from Solicitors (Professional Client Access), Accountants, Taxation Advisors (Licensed Access), other organisations and individuals approved under the Bar Council’s “Licensed Access” scheme. Some members are also able to accept instructions direct from the public (Public Access). Members are able to take instructions for non-advocacy services from clients outside England & Wales provided that the client either carries on a business or usually resides outside of England & Wales. If you are in any doubt about whether you can instruct us, please contact our Clerks for guidance.

Barristers in chambers practise mainly in revenue law including all areas of tax and provide both advisory and advocacy services.  Members of Chambers represent clients in the First Tier Tribunal, the Upper Tier Tribunal, the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

Advisory work can include both written and oral advice provided in conference.  Where members are instructed in advocacy, a barrister is usually instructed in the early stages of the appeal process, often at initial correspondence stage between the parties. 

Professional Client Access

The following people may instruct barristers either on behalf of clients or on their own account:

·         any person authorised by another approved regulator (not the Bar Standards Board) or licensing authority;

·         an employed barrister or registered European lawyer;

·         any practising barrister or registered European lawyer acting on his own behalf;

·         a foreign lawyer;

·         a Scottish or Northern Irish Solicitor; or

·         the representative of any body (such as a Legal Advice Centre or Pro Bono or Free Representation Unit) which arranges for the supply of legal services to the public without a fee, and which has been and remains designated by the Bar Standards Board (subject to such conditions as may be imposed by the Bar Council or Bar Standards Board in relation to insurance or any other matter whatsoever) as suitable for the instruction of barristers, and which instructs a barrister to supply legal services without a fee.

Licensed access

Licensed access is a licensing system whereby organisations or individuals who are suitable to instruct barristers because they have expertise in particular areas of the law can apply to the Bar Council to be licensed to instruct barristers directly in those areas. The licence can cover advice or representation or both and permit licensees to instruct barristers either on their own affairs or on behalf of their clients. For more information please see the Bar Council’s Licensed Access Guidance.

The  Bar Standards Board ‘Licensed Access Recognition Regulations’ tell you which organisations  are currently licensed to Instruct Counsel. Those organisations are listed here.

If you are unsure if you can instruct us, please contact the clerks for further guidance.

Public Access

The public access scheme allows members of the public to instruct a barrister directly. In the past it was necessary for clients to use a solicitor or other third party in order to instruct a barrister. The members of our Chambers who accept Instructions on this basis are Michael Sherry, Stephen Arthur, Michael Collins, Michael Quinlan, Ximena Montes Manzano, Lyndsey Frawley, David Pett and Michael Avient.

If you are not sure whether your case would be suitable for public access, please contact the clerks and seek an initial view. When contacting the clerks, you will need to explain the most important facts about your case and the key events leading up to the present. If we believe your case may be suitable for public access, we will ask you to confirm all details in writing and send some of the relevant papers and details of any relevant deadlines or hearing dates. The clerks will then discuss your case with a suitable barrister and contact you with a suggested course of action, including details of fees and response times.

Please note that not all cases are suitable for public access and we will advise when it is in your best interest to instruct a solicitor. 

Members who accept instructions under Public Access have their own standard terms of engagement, the clerks will liaise with you in relation to this and the customer AML requirements.

The Bar Standards Board "Public Access Guidance for the Public" provide more information on this scheme.