A number of Barristers at Littleton are permitted to accept Public Access work.
The types of work undertaken are High Court Restrictive Covenants, employment disputes, commercial litigation, disputes between directors, multi-party disputes , shareholder disputes, civil fraud, Off-Shore Disputes, disciplinary/regulatory proceedings , sporting disputes, Partnership disputes, mediation and arbitration.

Direct Access permits Barristers to accept instructions directly from a member of the public (lay client), a company or corporation providing the barrister in question is specifically Direct Access qualified. Even those who are Direct Access qualified, are not obliged to accept work and are permitted to negotiate and agree terms for the provision and scope of work to be supplied to the lay client.

There are occasions, when a Barrister may review the papers and advise a client that their case is not suitable for a Direct Access instruction and that solicitors will need to be involved. Alternatively, a particular Direct Access Barrister may advise that they are too busy to accept a case without solicitor support. The client will be clearly advised where this is the case and signposted to a choice of recommended firms.

How to contact us as a Public Access Client

All Barristers at Littleton are serviced by our Clerks.
Please contact the clerks room on 0207 797 8600 or email Clerks@Littletonchambers.co.uk for further information about public access representation.
ID documentation and anti-money laundering checks may also need to be carried out.

It is very important for members of the public to consider whether they may be eligible for legal expenses funding before instructing a Barrister on a public access basis. Examples of funding may be through Trade Union membership, legal expenses insurance or even public funding. Barristers may also suggest that a lay client is best served by receiving advice from a Solicitor alone or in conjunction with the Barrister.

Fees for Public Access Work

If you are a member of the public, please read The Bar Standards Board Public Access Guidance for lay clients here.

This guidance will help you understand how the Public Access Scheme works and explains how you can use it to instruct a Barrister directly. Our fees for Direct Access work are calculated using the same methodology as set out in HOW WE WORK namely by applying an hourly rate applicable to a particular Barrister depending on their expertise and the complexities of the case, together with the number of hours involved.

VAT and expenses such as travel and accommodation will be charged in addition.

Fees for Routine Employment Tribunal Cases

If you instruct one of our Barristers on a Public Access basis for routine Employment Tribunal proceedings, namely ordinary unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal proceedings, we are able to provide more specific guidelines as to pricing and timescales.
Please note these guidelines apply to advice and representation given to employers or employees in ordinary unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal claims.
They do not apply where there are other claims.

Timescales

Timescales for your case may vary depending on factors such a Barrister’s availability, the complexity of your case, the need for additional documents, and the other side’s approach. As pure guidance only, more straight forward ET cases tend to have a hearing date fixed within 6 months of a claim being made.

Fees

We may charge fixed fees for routine cases, which means we will charge a set amount of money for the work. In the chart below, we set out a range of fixed fees for Direct Access Barristers at Littleton doing the specific examples of work.

All fees quote are exclusive of VAT and there may be additional expenses such as travel and accommodation which are also not included. The level of fixed fee will depend on the seniority of the Barrister or the complexity of the case. For particularly complex cases, fixed fees may not be appropriate.

Stage of Case                               Fee

Initial conference                        £2,500 to £7,500 + VAT

Written Advice on Claim           £3,000 to £7,500 + VAT

Preparation of Case,                   £3,000 to £10,000 + VAT
drafting documents

Preliminary Hearing                   £3,500 to £10,000 + VAT

Tribunal Hearing – 1 day.         £4,500 – 15,000 + VAT

Refresher                                        £3,000 to £6,000 + VAT

Remedy hearing – 1 day           £3,000 to £10,000 + VAT

Contact us

All above information is correct as at January 2020. For fee estimates for anything other than routine Wrongful or Unfair Dismissal claims, or for any other query please contact the Clerks on:

Clerks@Littletonchambers.co.uk or 0207 797 8600.