Octagon Legal has a team of Public Access barristers who are qualified to accept instructions directly from members of the public. Here we answer some of the questions that are commonly asked by our clients. If you have any questions that aren’t listed below, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Barristers are specialist advocates. Historically, members of the public could not instruct us directly, meaning they would need a solicitor to obtain our services to advise or conduct the advocacy in Court. As times have changed, barristers still specialise in the Court work but we can now qualify to represent you directly. It is called 'Public' or 'Direct Access' meaning you no longer need to access our services via a Solicitor.
Our barristers can deal with most aspects of your case. Octagon Legal's Public Access team is one of the largest and most experienced in East Anglia. There are still some things only solicitors can do for example, applying for public funding and preparing wills and so forth. Contact us and we will advise you immediately if we can help.
We can provide a broad range of legal advice, including reviewing your case and proposing how to strengthen it as well as identifying possible and likely outcomes. We can help you draft all forms of legal documentation and communications, and can represent you at Tribunals or in Court and can arrange mediation.
We will always advise you if your request is something we’re not allowed to help you with. This includes engaging in correspondence on your behalf, managing the financial side of your case (such as paying court fees or witnesses’ expenses) or serving documents on other parties. However, we can help you understand how to do all of this, and can also put you in touch with the best solicitor.
The sooner you contact Octagon Legal, the sooner we can help. Barristers with Public Access qualifications can assist at any stage in your problems, including if you foresee a potential problem in the future. However it’s never too late, we can also assist you at short notice.
The Public Access scheme allows members of the public to instruct properly qualified barristers directly, without the need to go through a solicitor or other intermediary. This means that we at Octagon Legal can provide all the legal support you need in most areas. For more detail, please see our Public Access page.
