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A website designed to help the public instruct barristers directly without the need for solicitors has relaunched with the support of the Bar Council.
Northern Circuit members Pru Beever and Mike Whyatt created the site a year ago and have joined forces with the Bar Council to replace its direct access register.
All those on the Bar Council’s existing online direct access directory will be transferred to the new site over the summer.
Find a Barrister is free for consumers to use and barristers pay no fees to be listed on it other than the £100-a-year Bar Representation Fee, if they do not do so already.
Beever and Whyatt developed and financed the portal jointly with Beever’s husband, retired airline pilot David Jupe. The three have entered into an “equal partnership” with the Bar Council.
Beever, Whyatt and Jupe are directors for the company that owns the portal and three others have been provided by the Bar Council.
Following the relaunch of the site in Manchester, Bar chairman Alistair MacDonald QC said: “Innovation in the barristers’ profession is clearly alive and well. The Direct Access Portal was designed with one aim in mind; to make it easier for the public to access the quality services that barristers provide.”
He said: “There are now thousands of barristers able to provide legal advice and other services directly to members of the public, potentially saving them money in the process.”
Beever and Whyatt said: “Our motivation for creating the Direct Access Portal was not to make a profit but to simply make life easier for anyone looking for a barrister. There is no catch.”
“We never envisaged that this would catch the eye of the Bar Council. It was never part of a masterplan, but we are delighted to have the organisation’s weight backing this barrister-grown innovation,” they added.
A website designed to help the public instruct barristers directly without the need for solicitors has relaunched with the support of the Bar Council.
Northern Circuit members Pru Beever and Mike Whyatt created the site a year ago and have joined forces with the Bar Council to replace its direct access register.
All those on the Bar Council’s existing online direct access directory will be transferred to the new site over the summer.
Find a Barrister is free for consumers to use and barristers pay no fees to be listed on it other than the £100-a-year Bar Representation Fee, if they do not do so already.
Beever and Whyatt developed and financed the portal jointly with Beever’s husband, retired airline pilot David Jupe. The three have entered into an “equal partnership” with the Bar Council.
Beever, Whyatt and Jupe are directors for the company that owns the portal and three others have been provided by the Bar Council.
Following the relaunch of the site in Manchester, Bar chairman Alistair MacDonald QC said: “Innovation in the barristers’ profession is clearly alive and well. The Direct Access Portal was designed with one aim in mind; to make it easier for the public to access the quality services that barristers provide.”
He said: “There are now thousands of barristers able to provide legal advice and other services directly to members of the public, potentially saving them money in the process.”
Beever and Whyatt said: “Our motivation for creating the Direct Access Portal was not to make a profit but to simply make life easier for anyone looking for a barrister. There is no catch.”
“We never envisaged that this would catch the eye of the Bar Council. It was never part of a masterplan, but we are delighted to have the organisation’s weight backing this barrister-grown innovation,” they added.
Update from the Chair of the Bar
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Unlocking your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step. By Philip N Bristow
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, discusses the upcoming changes to pensions and Inheritance Tax and the potential impact on your financial future
Save the Children UK is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
The Chief Legal Officer to the Metropolitan Police, barrister Brett Welch, tells Anthony Inglese CB about his mission and the work to turn the Met around
Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’, say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy
Born from a grievance, their research project grew into a book and is now challenging the status quo. Emma Price and Emma-Louise Fenelon reveal the key findings – and the critical next steps
Grok around and find out – or not? Mariya Peykova investigates the nudification scandal, what the law has to say about sexually explicit deepfakes, and whether stronger regulation is needed
Oliver Lewis spotlights an overlooked yet rapidly evolving area of law – coercive and controlling behaviour within care contexts
