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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
Chair of the Bar reflects on 2025
AlphaBiolabs has donated £500 to The Christie Charity through its Giving Back initiative, helping to support cancer care, treatment and research across Greater Manchester, Cheshire and further afield
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Revolt Cycling in Holborn, London’s first sustainable fitness studio, invites barristers to join the revolution – turning pedal power into clean energy
Rachel Davenport, Co-founder and Director at AlphaBiolabs, reflects on how the company’s Giving Back ethos continues to make a difference to communities across the UK
By Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
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Professor Dominic Regan and Seán Jones KC present their best buys for this holiday season
Marking one year since a Bar disciplinary tribunal dismissed all charges against her, Dr Charlotte Proudman discusses the experience, her formative years and next steps. Interview by Anthony Inglese CB
Little has changed since Burns v Burns . Cohabiting couples deserve better than to be left on the blasted heath with the existing witch’s brew for another four decades, argues Christopher Stirling
Pointillism, radical politics and social conscience. Review by Stephen Cragg KC
