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Public Access Bar Association
Public access now accounts for 12% of the Bar’s income; in 2009 the figure was just 2%; Five QCs, one a recent convert to ‘the Dark Side’ of judicial office gave personal views of public access.
There was a distinct family bias to this PABA session, which was none the worse for that. In fact as a civil practitioner, whose public access work is far more symbiotic with the solicitors’ profession, with clients often looking for initial advice and referral to a suitable solicitor, it was interesting to learn that in the family field, the Bar is far more often either in direct competition with solicitors or filling the void left by legal aid.
In the field of ancillary relief, the Bar can offer a far more cost-effective solution in big money cases; a telling example was given by Susan Jacklin QC who revealed that a direct access client had told her he had been given more substantive advice in their first four-hour conference than he had previously received after spending £¾million on three ‘blue chip’ solicitors’ firms. Thorny issues, such as writing correspondence and avoiding stepping over the sometimes-thin boundary that in practice can exist between permitted public access work and conducting litigation, was also discussed (although 6,000 barristers have completed training and registered for public access work only 220 have gone on to obtain a the qualification to conduct litigation). As a family judge, Robin Tolson QC echoed Sir Henry Brooke’s comments earlier in the day about the impossibility of maintaining equality of arms when one unrepresented party appears against another who is represented and the relief he feels when a previously unrepresented party has, through public access, managed to secure representation.
Rawdon Crozier is a barrister at KBG Chambers, Plymouth, specialising in property law. He is a member of the Counsel editorial board, writes for several legal journals and also writes poetry. In 2015 he went straight from Arnold v Britton [2015] UKSC 36 in the Supreme Court to starting chemotherapy and ‘got the right result in the latter’.
Public access now accounts for 12% of the Bar’s income; in 2009 the figure was just 2%; Five QCs, one a recent convert to ‘the Dark Side’ of judicial office gave personal views of public access.
There was a distinct family bias to this PABA session, which was none the worse for that. In fact as a civil practitioner, whose public access work is far more symbiotic with the solicitors’ profession, with clients often looking for initial advice and referral to a suitable solicitor, it was interesting to learn that in the family field, the Bar is far more often either in direct competition with solicitors or filling the void left by legal aid.
In the field of ancillary relief, the Bar can offer a far more cost-effective solution in big money cases; a telling example was given by Susan Jacklin QC who revealed that a direct access client had told her he had been given more substantive advice in their first four-hour conference than he had previously received after spending £¾million on three ‘blue chip’ solicitors’ firms. Thorny issues, such as writing correspondence and avoiding stepping over the sometimes-thin boundary that in practice can exist between permitted public access work and conducting litigation, was also discussed (although 6,000 barristers have completed training and registered for public access work only 220 have gone on to obtain a the qualification to conduct litigation). As a family judge, Robin Tolson QC echoed Sir Henry Brooke’s comments earlier in the day about the impossibility of maintaining equality of arms when one unrepresented party appears against another who is represented and the relief he feels when a previously unrepresented party has, through public access, managed to secure representation.
Public Access Bar Association
The Chair of the Bar reports back
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, explains how global events can influence the performance of pensions and ISAs, and why taking a long-term approach to investing is often the most effective strategy
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, discusses what family law professionals need to know about hallucinogens, from the main hallucinogenic drugs encountered in family proceedings, to their effects and the testing options available
Harmony Christian Ministries is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
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
Developing a tech start-up demands a different definition of excellence to the Bar, says Saara Idelbi. The co-creator of Advocatr on entrepreneurship, AI advocacy training, and matching the thrill of a killer cross-examination
At the start of her term, Chair of the Bar 2026 Kirsty Brimelow KC set out a series of priorities for the year ahead. One of those priorities was children in the justice system
As the world becomes more digital, Barbara Vinagre Mota examines international research into the mental health consequences of judges’ exposure to graphic and immersive evidence, highlighting the importance of support systems
Reviewed by Daniel Barnett
James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain until 27 September Rothko in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi until 23 August Reviewed by Stephen Cragg KC
