The Guardian reports that barristers will be able to take direct clients from next month.
This will only apply to simple cases, since barristers will not be allowed to do the preparatory work normally done by solicitors.
bq. Family and immigration work will be excluded, apart from child support appeals, and in criminal cases the scheme will be limited to advisory work and simpler appeals.
NB It’s Barristers in ‘Independent Practice’ who can have direct access to legal-advice clients. There’s already a DPA – Direct Professional Access – Scheme to certain prof. groups like accountants, and architects who need not go through a solicitor.
Employed barristers in a legal dept. of an industry may also already be serving one master/ mistress. There used to be a barmy rule that even they – if without higher rights of audience in court – had to instruct a solicitor first before instucting a Practitioner to appear in a court case.
Non-practitioners working as interpreters and translators can also be accessed direct and – what a luxury – are not bound by the Bar’s ‘cab-rank rule’ to take on a case (a ‘fare’)i.e. a job and can sue without first having made a Legal Services contractual agreement as Independent Practitioners would do.
Pro Bono/’law for free’ cases are, however, optional at the Practising Eng. & Wales Bar, but are positively encouraged – with praise and prizes – in crim. & immigration cases.