Direct Public Access to the services of a barrister has been available to the general public since 2004; however only those barristers that are beyond thee years of call, have undertaken specific training and are registered with the Bar Council are eligible to provide such services.

 Since 2004 there has been a steady increase in the number of Direct Access instructions and in the number of barristers offering their services on a Direct Access basis. Due to the continued success of the Direct Access scheme a dedicated Public Access Bar Association was launched in 2007, and more recently an associated website has been launched which provides useful information to the general public and Direct Access barristers alike.

 Written by Karl Prosser, Barrister at New Walk Chambers, specialising in Civil Law.