Public Access

The law allows members of the public to access barristers’ services directly rather than through a solicitor. At Civitas Law we welcome the general public to approach our specialist barristers for advice and representation. Our Public Access barristers will have completed the relevant training and will be ideally matched you your needs. This can potentially save you money since you may only need to pay for a barrister instead of a barrister and a solicitor.

We draw your attention to the Public Access Guidance for Lay Clients page which gives you further information about the process involved..

Accessible and approachable

You can speak directly from the outset to the barrister who could present your case in court so you will be given a much clearer view of your prospects. Furthermore, our barristers are approachable, friendly and will immediately put you at ease.

Areas of expertise

Our chambers’ members accept work through public access in the following areas of expertise:

Company, Commercial and Insolvency

Construction, Planning and Environment

Employment

Regulatory, Health and Safety and Licensing

Your role

Dependent upon the particular work involved, you may need to do some of the administrative tasks in order to help the case along. For example, you must be able to gather together the papers and the evidence in support of your case that the barrister will need in order to do the work that you ask them to do. You may also for example need to handle the correspondence in the case and file documents at court. The barrister can however advise you upon what steps need to be taken and can draft the documents for use in the proceedings.

What you can do

The first step is to contact our Clerks who can help you through the process. You can telephone or contact the clerks by email or via our contact page. It does help if you can fill out your details and set out the help which you would like. If there is an ongoing case in a court and tribunal, it is useful for us to know its details including any hearings or time-limits. The earlier you can contact us, the better for all concerned. Do mention any particular barrister whom you would like to consider your case. Remember please to include your contact details.

What we shall do

Our clerks handle your initial enquiry and will be in touch with you as appropriate before passing the information on to a barrister to consider. The barrister may well need to have a meeting with you when he or she will have to discuss the work which you need to have done as well as to carry out basic checks such as your identification, for which you will need to provide evidence. An agreement will be reached over how the matter is to proceed.

Charging

A barrister usually charges according to their level of experience, the complexity of the case and the length of time involved in dealing with it. It is important that the cost to you and the stage at which the fee is payable is agreed at the outset and that the terms of the agreement between you and the barrister are clear. Fees can be agreed on an hourly rate or a fixed fee. But have no fear: No fees will be incurred by you until the basis has been clearly agreed with you. Members of chambers are registered for VAT and fees quoted will include VAT unless for example in an immigration case the client is not subject to VAT. Dependent upon the case, travel and other expenses such as accommodation may be charged in addition to the particular fee.

Under the transparency rules of the Bar Standards Board, the following particular information must be provided

Employment Tribunal cases (advice and representation for employers and employees)

[Immigration appeals (First-tier Tribunal)

Inheritance Act advices

Licensing applications in relation to business premises

Winding-up petitions]

There is further information about charging on [About Civitas Law].

Members of Civitas Law

The following barristers can accept instructions directly from the public:

Anthony Vines

Matthew Paul

Christopher Howells

Cathrine Grubb

Kate Parker

Owain Rhys James

Contact

For further information, kindly contact the clerks either by telephone or email.

Employment Tribunal – Public Access
Our barristers can advise both employees and employers on ordinary unfair dismissal and wrongful dismissal claims. Our barristers can also represent both employees and employers at the Employment Tribunal. Timescales Timescales for your case may vary depending on factors such as barristers’ availability, the complexity of your case, the need for additional documents and the other side’s approach. However, as a guide more straightforward cases tend to have a hearing date four to six months of a claim being made. Fees We may charge fixed fees, which means that we will charge you a set amount of money for the work. Below we provide estimates based on the ranges of fixed fees for barristers in Civitas Law. All fees include VAT (where applicable). If we charge fixed fees, these may vary depending on your needs – for example, your fees may be towards the higher end of the range if you need a more experienced barrister and/or you have a more complex case. If you have a particularly complex case, your fees may also be higher than the estimates below. There may also be additional costs of travel and accommodation.
Stage of case	Range of fixed fees (estimates)
Written advice on your claim	£250-£1,750
Preparation of case, including meetings with you and assistance with drafting of any tribunal documents	£250-£2,000
Preliminary hearing	£250-£1,000
First day’s tribunal appearance	£650-£2,500
Tribunal appearances per day, after the first day	£450-£1,750
Remedy hearing (to decide compensation)	£650-£1,500
Contact Us All information is correct as of December 2019 but fees are estimates only. For a quotation, please contact the clerks on 02920 375020 or via our Contact form.

Inheritance Act Advice – Public Access
The Inheritance Act 1975 protects spouses (including former spouses), cohabitants, children and other dependants when a person dies without leaving sufficient money for the dependent’s continued wellbeing. Our barristers can provide you with written advice on whether you can make a claim under the Act. Our barristers can also provide you with written advice when a person dies and you are a beneficiary of the estate, but someone else makes a claim under the Act. Timescales Timescales for your written advice may vary depending on factors such as barristers’ availability, the value and complexity of the deceased person’s estate, your financial needs and those of any beneficiary of the estate. However, claims under the Act must be made within six months of the grant of probate, so as a guide your written advice will be available within two to four weeks where possible. Fees We may charge fixed fees, which means that we will charge you a set amount of money for the written advice. Below we provide estimates based on the ranges of fixed fees for barristers in Civitas Law, where the deceased person’s estate is worth less than £300,000. All fees include VAT (where applicable). If we charge fixed fees, these may be towards the higher end of the range if you need a more experienced barrister and/or the deceased person’s estate is more complex. If the deceased person’s estate is particularly complex, your fees may also be higher than the estimate below.There are also likely to be additional costs of obtaining search records from the Land Registry: these can be usually from £3 to £7 per record although this may depend upon precisely what is needed There may also be additional costs of travel and accommodation.
Stage of case	Range of fixed fees (estimates)
Written advice on making or defending a claim	£250-£1,750
Contact Us All information is correct as of December 2019, but fees are estimates only. For a quotation, please contact the clerks on 02920 375020 or clerks@civitaslaw.com. Please also contact the clerks if the deceased person’s estate is worth more than £300,000.

Financial disputes arising out of divorce – Public Access
Our barristers can advise you if you and your former partner cannot agree on financial matters during, or after, a divorce. For example, you may not be able to agree on how assets should be divided, whether to sell your home or other assets, maintenance payments, or pension sharing. If you cannot agree, you can apply to a court for a financial order. You may need to attend a number of court hearings – our barristers can represent you in these hearings. Timescales Timescales for your case may vary depending on factors such as barristers’ availability, the value and complexity of your assets, whether you have children, how much you have already agreed with your former partner, and their approach. Written advice on your financial dispute will be available within two to four weeks where possible. As a guide, court hearings for a financial order tend to take six to twelve months. This does not include possible appeals. Fees We may charge fixed fees, which means that we will charge you a set amount of money for the work. Below we provide estimates based on the ranges of fixed fees for barristers in Orchard Chambers, where the parties have joint assets which are worth less than £300,000. All fees include VAT (where applicable). If we charge fixed fees, these may be towards the higher end of the range if you need a more experienced barrister. If you have a particularly complex case, your fees may also be higher than the estimates below. There are also likely to be additional costs of obtaining search records from the Land Registry: these can be usually from £3 to £7 per record although this may depend upon precisely what is needed. There may also be additional costs of travel and accommodation.
Stage of case	Range of fixed fees (estimates)
Written advice on your financial dispute	£250-£1,750
Preparation of case, including meetings with you and assistance with drafting of any court documents	£250-£2,000
First appointment (first court hearing exchanging financial information)	£250-£1,000
Financial dispute resolution appointment (second court hearing to reach a financial settlement)	£650-£2,500
First day of final hearing (if no settlement was reached in the financial dispute resolution appointment)	£450-£1,750
Court appearances per day, after the first day of the final hearing	£650-£1,500
Contact Us All information is correct as of X, but fees are estimates only. For a quotation, please contact the clerks on 02920 375020 or clerks@civitaslaw.com. Please also contact the clerks if you and your former partner have joint assets which are worth more than £300,000.