Questions tagged [barristers]
In split legal representation jurisdictions, barristers are members of the bar who specialise in courtroom advocacy.
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What does it mean to represent a party “as counsel,” and what other capacities can an individual who is qualified as a barrister appear in court in?
A recent answer refers to inabilities in certain circumstances for a barrister to represent someone “as counsel,” which begged the question around what the alternatives to this could be and indeed ...
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What’s actually the difference between firms and chambers?
The classic answer is that chambers are more limited to office sharing and only provide clerks. But this is clearly not the case as chambers often provide websites as well with getaways allowing one ...
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Is there any particular reason why barristers have to be self employed or is it purely customary?
Suppose Barry graduated law school and receives all of the necessary qualifications necessary to practice as a barrister, but doesn’t like the idea of being self employed or perhaps doesn’t have the ...
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What are the correct parameters of usage for addressing parties as one’s “learned friend”?
Does a solicitor with right of audience address their opposing barrister as their learned friend? Do they get addressed as the barrister’s learned friend?
What of a litigant in person?
And in all ...
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Why is it considered unethical for a barrister to communicate with another side or even their own client, directly?
Obviously there are exceptions to this provision, like ones who are "direct access"-licensed, but why does that in itself even require special licensing qualifications to be permitted? And ...
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In what context can one reference or make points about pre-trial correspondence at trial?
Suppose one has a claim against a corporate defendant, and up until the trial the defendant is represented in correspondence by a solicitor. At trial, a human director of the defendant is called by ...
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Is it common/normal for barristers of the same chambers to represent opposing sides in a case?
The case of Rakusen v Jepson was recently heard in the UKSC. Appellant Rakusen was represented by Tom Morris of Landmark Chambers, the respondents meanwhile by Edward Fitzpatrick of Garden Court. ...
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Why does the term "counsel" typically refer to barristers rather than solicitors?
It seems arbitrary that it seems to conventionally refer to one rather than the other, but is actually even more confusing that it refers to barristers rather than solicitors when one typically seeks ...
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When speaking to a judge in court, what do barristers mean by "May I take instructions?"
I know what instructions to a barrister are, BEFORE court.
When it is appropriate to use a barrister, the barrister is sent ‘Instructions' (when asked to give an opinion on a case) or a 'Brief' (if ...
user42021
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"Most junior counsel present"
In W.S. Gilbert's The Maiden Brief -- a work of fiction set in England in the mid-nineteenth century -- when prosecuting counsel does not attend due to another case, the judge calls for "the most ...
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Why are barristers in England and Wales not officers of the court?
In Assaubayev v Michael Wilson & Partners Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 1491, in a discussion about the court's supervisory jurisdiction over solicitors, Christopher Clarke LJ said [32]:
Those who appear ...
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How freely can counsel interpret instructions given by their client?
I have been reading about Frank Harris's trial for contempt of court in February, 1914, and while there are a number of aspects that may strike us as odd now, such as that Harris was committed to ...
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In 2022 can a barrister do anything that a solicitor or a litigant in person for that matter cannot?
It seems that the exclusive privileges of barristers to appear in higher courts has slowly been eroded by various acts including in 1990 and 1999. I assume the answer is yes, but Does anything remain ...
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What's the definition of an attorney at law?
User Francis Davey States that "Barristers are not, and have never been, attorneys (at law) in England - at least not as a result of their profession -- whereas all solicitors are."
What ...
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By which "institutional mechanism" is the barristers' cab rank rule administered?
User @ohwilleke mentions in another question convent thread that barristers work on a coordinated system of assigning cases to lawyers which constitutes an institutional mechanism for enforcing the ...
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Why would an English QC litigate in Federal Court in Sydney, Australia?
Jonathan Sumption was a Queen's Counsel who practiced at the London bar, before his direct appointment to the UKSC. He does not appear to have practiced, or know much, Australian law. He does not ...
user43343
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What is the basis/rationale for the barristers' cab rank rule?
Does it only apply to barristers or also solicitors? Why or why not?
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How does Australia split its legal profession?
I just got an interesting edit suggestion to my recent question by someone who just registered (perhaps for the purpose of this edit suggestion).
It proposes that "lawyer" is replaced with &...
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What did former Justice Dyson Heydon mean by "put that respectfully"?
I'm having difficulty understanding this exchange between Robert Newlinds SC, the barrister representing the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and Dyson Heydon KC, the Commissioner of the Royal ...
user41776
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How friendly are learned friends supposed to be during court breaks?
In a courtroom, just when everyone arrives before the hearing, how common or expected is it for the opposing lawyers to shake hands (covid aside) and have small talk pretending (or really being) ...
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Barrister in the UK
I have had an interest in taxation throughout my adult life, and I recently stumbled upon a position at a Chambers to do exactly that, and they also pay for me to become a Barrister.
If I eventually ...
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Will Queen's Counsel automatically become King's Counsel upon the accession of a male Head of the Commonwealth?
Would Jane Bloggs QC become Jane Bloggs KC overnight? Or would current silk simply be able to apply for the new title, as occurred in some jurisdictions when the title of Senior Counsel was introduced?...
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Is it possible to arrange remote attendance at Family Law court hearing in the UK?
It is possible to hire a barrister and be represented.
Is it possible to hire a barrister and be represented and have a Skype / Hangouts / anything running during the court hearing?
Previous ...
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Can Bangladeshi Lawyer practice in UK?
If somebody has no Nationality card of UK, is he able to practice in UK court, although he has completed BPTC courses?
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How can a barrister succeed, if a barrister lacked 'the depth into law'?
From the 3 m 51 s juncture of Lord Neuberger's interview at the Cambridge Union of 2015/12/12:
On the other hand, I do honestly feel, and I am sure some people who read my judgements would agree, ...
user89
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What does 'public performances required of a barrister' mean?
[ Source : ] He [UK Solicitor Tom Giles] thought about becoming a teacher before taking a conversion course and going into legal aid. “It’s a cliche, isn’t it – growing up in a lesbian household in ...
user89
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How does a layperson know whether to hire a Queen's Counsel?
1. A layperson may not know whether his/her case is complex enough to hire a Queen's Counsel. So how does a layperson decide, when deciding hiring a public access barrister?
2. Are barristers ...
user89