Frequently Asked Questions

What happens After You Decide to Directly Instruct a 2 Pump Court Barrister

When you and the barrister are in agreement that your case is suitable to be dealt with under the Public Access Scheme and you decide that you do want to instruct the barrister directly to undertake work for you on your case, there will be a need to deal with some administrative matters before work can begin.

We are required by law to confirm your identity before any work commences on your case. To assist us in this task, you will be required to provide us firstly with proof of who you are by providing either the original copy of your passport or original photo driving licence. Secondly, we will require an original document providing proof of your address. This can be in the form of a recent council tax or utility bill. We are required by law to take photocopies of these original documents, following which all the documents will be immediately returned to you.

An agreement will then be prepared between you and the barrister. This will set out the nature of the work to be undertaken on your behalf; the terms under which the work is to be carried out; where applicable, the different stages at which the work is to be carried out; the roles to be expected of both you and your barrister in the conduct of your case; the cost of the work to be undertaken and/or the rate at which the work is to be remunerated; and the fact that at the beginning of every stage of work to be carried out, the payment for that stage of work will be required in advance. Also included for your reference will be the procedure in the unlikely event that you have a concern or complaint. View our complaints procedure.

This agreement will form part of a ‘client letter’ that you will be provided with before any work commences on your case.

What a Public Access Barrister May Not Be Able To Do

All public access certified barristers are able to do what all barristers do. There are however certain administrative and investigatory matters that barristers cannot do directly on your behalf although you can fully be assisted by a barrister in doing this yourself. They include the following:

Issuing proceedings in court is done by completing the necessary forms and sending it to the court. Whilst we cannot issue proceedings in court on your behalf, we are able to assist you in obtaining and completing the necessary forms so that you can then serve/send them in your own name as required.
Whilst we cannot serve/send documents to the court and other parties in a case on your behalf, we are able to draft documents for you and advice you at every stage of the way on the documents that you will need to serve on the court and/or the other parties. We are also able provide you with the required contact details and show you the most appropriate ways to send the documents.
An expert report may be required in your case (for example an allegation of drink driving may require an expert to provide a report on the reliability of the intoximeter). Whilst we cannot directly instruct other professional experts on your behalf, we have ongoing working relationships with a wide variety of experts and are able to recommend appropriate experts if your case requires one. We do not only put you in contact with an appropriate expert but we can also assist you in drafting letters of instruction setting out clearly exactly what you want the expert to do in your case. If the expert is prepared to carry out the work, you will then be required to come to an agreement with the expert directly on the cost of the work.
We are not able to receive or pay money on your behalf. We are however able to advice you on the best methods to receive and pay money whenever you are require to on your case.
Whilst we cannot find witnesses or collect evidence on your behalf, we are able to advice you on how this can be done and if required, provide you with details of those able to collect evidence on your behalf.
Whilst we cannot represent you at a police station interview, we are able to put you in contact with solicitors we work closely with and recommend other solicitors who are able to represent you at the police station. You are under no obligation to continue to use that solicitor if your case proceeds to court.

What Cases May Definitely Not be Dealt with Under the Public Access Scheme

If you are entitled to legal aid on your case and you want to take up the opportunity of being legally aided, you will not be able to instruct a barrister directly under the Public Access scheme. However we are able to put you in contact with solicitors who can apply for legal aid on your behalf. After you have obtained legal aid the solicitor (acting on your behalf) may then instruct a barrister from 2 Pump Court to provide expert legal advice and court advocacy assistance in your case.

What Happens if the Case is No Longer Suitable to be Dealt with Under the Public Access Scheme.

The suitability of your case to be dealt with under the Public Access scheme will be kept under constant review. If the nature of your case changes and/or it becomes apparent that it is no longer appropriate for your case to be dealt with under the Public Access scheme, (for example, due to undue burden being placed on you) you will be advised of this immediately.

You will further be advised of the need for a solicitor to assist you with the litigation aspects of your case and be put in contact with solicitors who are able to assist you if you so require. You will be able to continue to instruct the barrister of your choice with the assistance of a solicitor. If you decide you no longer wish to instruct the barrister, you will be fully refunded the money you have paid for every stage of the work that is yet to be carried out.

What to do for More information on instructing a Barrister Directly Under the Public Access Scheme