About us

Public Access

5RB have a team of barrister’s from QC’s to Junior Counsel licensed to undertake public, professional and licensed access work. Our team have all completed the Bar Council’s accredited course.

What is Public Access?

You can now contact 5RB directly. Members of the public and commercial and non-commercial organisations are now able to instruct barristers directly on most civil matters. Bar Council rules changed in 2004 to allow members of the public to come direct to barristers for legal advice or representation without going through a solicitor or another qualified intermediary first. This is known as Public Access.

Benefits to you

  • Initial review of your case by one of 5RB’s specialists
  • This saves you time and money

Services we offer

As specialists in defamation, privacy, media, entertainment and sports law we accept instructions in appropriate circumstances from individuals and organisations (or their agents). 

Members of 5RB’s public access team are used to dealing with individuals and organisations including broadcasters; newspapers, magazines, books and music publishers of all sizes; media and sports regulatory bodies; and local authorities. We also regularly deal with public relations, media and sports agents directly. 

This means that we can

  • give expert legal advice on specific issues or disputes,
  • act in negotiations,
  • draft documents (including correspondence and statements from litigants and witnesses)
  • advise you on the best strategy and approach to be taken
  • represent you in court

What are we not allowed to do?

  • issue court documents on your behalf
  • correspond with the other side on your behalf
  • contact potential witnesses or investigate evidence
  • instruct an expert witness on your behalf

Members of 5RB’s public access team are used to dealing with individuals and organisations including broadcasters; newspapers, magazines, books and music publishers of all sizes; media and sports regulatory bodies and local authorities. We also regularly deal with public relations, media and sport agents directly.

Contact us

If you would like to instruct a barrister through Public Access please fill in the attached Public Access Briefing Form giving us details of your case. Once complete please send it to the Clerks via e-mail clerks@5rb.com , fax +44(0)20 7831 2686 or by post.

The process

On receipt of the completed Public Access Briefing Form a 5RB Public Access barrister will look at the details at no initial cost to you to establish whether the matter qualifies for Public Access. You will then be notified whether it is a matter we can pursue on your behalf or not.

  1. If the barrister can take the matter on you will be contacted by the Clerks who will discuss timescale and costings with you. Once a fee for the work and timescale is agreed you will be sent a letter of confirmation with our terms and conditions. If you are happy with the content you will need to sign the letter and return it to us. Once the work is complete it will be passed on to you upon receipt of the agreed payment.
  2. If our barrister is not prepared to take the matter on, a short note will be sent to you indicating this is the case. This will not be a formal advice and you won’t be charged for it. If you wish the barrister to expand on the note this will become a chargeable advice albeit a small sum.

If you would like to discuss the matter first, please contact one of our clerks, Kim Janes, John Sizer or Andrew Love on +44 (0)20 7242 2902. They will be happy to advise you on seniority, availability and fee rates.

Please contact our clerks, who will be happy to assist you in identifying the appropriate member of chambers for your needs.
 

What clients said about our public access service:

"Although I am a retired solicitor, I had absolutely no experience in defamation and used the public access scheme to hire a barrister directly. I duly instructed Godwin Busutil. His advice and guidance was thorough and comprehensive. Indeed, it led to an award of costs in my favour and all claims against me being withdrawn. I found the Clerks at 5RB courteous and very efficient. I am really grateful to Godwin and the Clerks for their help.” 
 

The two other ways to instruct barristers are as follows:

  1. Professional Client Access. Solicitors, qualified in-house lawyers and other authorised litigators may instruct barristers directly either on behalf of clients or on their own account in any matter for all types of work.
  2. Licensed Access. Licensed access is a licensing system whereby organisations or individuals who are suitable to instruct barristers because they have expertise in particular areas of law can apply to the Bar counsel to be licensed to instruct barristers directly in those areas. The licensed access licensing scheme ensures that the referrer has the skills necessary and the facilities available to instruct the Bar direct. 

The members of 5RB accredited to undertake public access work are:

James Price QC
Mark Warby QC
Gordon Bishop
Stephen Bate
Iain Christie
Alex Marzec
Jonathan Barnes
Godwin Busuttil
Christina Michalos
Anna Coppola
Adam Speker
Richard Munden
David Hirst
Victoria Shore
Victoria Jolliffe

Please contact our clerks, who will be happy to assist you in identifying the appropriate member of chambers for your needs.