Licensing is all around us. Every day we might drive, catch the bus or train or taxi, all these require permits and licences of one sort or another. When we go shopping, to the cinema, theatre or restaurant, licenses are in action behind the scenes. You are only likely to know about them if you have or require one for yourself or your business.
Our direct access Barristers can help you get and keep your licence. We can also help tailor your licence to meet your exact requirements, either at the outset or by changing its conditions to better suit your needs. Our direct access Barristers have dealt with a wide variety of licensing cases from taxi services to tourist attractions, from skips to lap-dancing clubs. Our experts help you to save time, energy and money by using their expert knowledge, detailed preparation and excellent advocacy skills to get the best license for you.
Failure to have a licence or a breach of its conditions can lead to a criminal prosecution or a claim for compensation may arise out of holding a licence.
All our direct access Licensing Barristers have full rights of audience and can attend at any licensing panel and all courts on appeal. They can bring significant criminal and civil experience so are able to assist you without the need to spend for another specialist lawyer.
Licensing is all around us. In normal daily life we might drive, catch the bus, go shopping, eat out, go to the theatre etc and all these require permits and licences of one sort or another. You are only likely to know about them if you have or require one for yourself or your business.
We represent any person or business applying for a new license, keeping their current license or looking to change their license.
The first step is either an arbitration or mediation or a hearing before a licensing panel. If you want to appeal the panel’s decision then the case goes to Court.
Direct Access, also known as Public Access, allows you to directly instruct a barrister to act on your behalf, without using a solicitor or intermediary as is traditional. You are managing your case. However, not all cases are suitable for direct access and only barristers specifically trained to accept direct access instruction can assist you. Meet our trained barristers here.
We use a 4 step process outlining how you can instruct a barrister directly: Enquire, Discuss, Confirm, Instruct. Each stage is designed so we can make sure your case is suitable for direct access. It enables our clerks to find the right barrister, at the right price, for the right time just for you. Read more about the process here.
Each case is different and some cases are not suitable for direct access instruction. For this area Clients using legal aid are not suitable for Direct Access so should instruct us using a solicitor.
Some cases require more day to day management so are not suitable for direct access. In this case, we will not progress beyond the Enquiry stage of our process but you can instruct us using a solicitor.
Fees can be a fixed amount for agreed upon work or an hourly rate with a set limit. Your case is unique but our experienced clerks can provide an accurate fee once you have submitted your enquiry form. Generally speaking, fees can vary depend on how senior a barrister is and how many hours work are needed but you’ll be aware of exactly what you are spending. Read more about our fees here.
Upon receiving this enquiry form a Public Access Clerk will contact you to discuss your case in further detail. Please see our 4 steps outlining the process of instructing a Direct Access Barrister.
1. Submit an enquiry
Fill out our form, designed to collect as much information as possible about your case.
2. Speak to a clerk
After carefully reviewing your form, a specially trained Clerk will get in touch to confirm if your case is suitable for one of our Direct Access Barristers.
3. Receive a client care pack
Once our Direct Access Barrister has agreed in principle to represent you, you will be sent a ‘client care letter’.
4. Instructing a Barrister
If you want to go ahead after agreeing to your client care letter, it’s time to instruct your Direct Access Barrister. Download a PDF of this process here.
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