Barristers Chambers | Sydney | Melbourne | Brisbane & More
Barristers' Chambers are not legal firms, companies or separate
legal entities, but co-operative associations or collections of
self-employed legal practitioners who, although in strict competition
with one another, usually group together within single premises or
offices in collegiate style, to share overheads and resources for mutual
benefit.
There are approximately 200 sets of Barristers Chambers operating
in Australian States and Territories, all of which are listed on this
website to assist solicitors, corporations, and members of the public
make informed choices in the selection of a Barrister to assist with
their court appearance or legal problem.
Specialist Advocates | Mediators | Arbitrators
Some Barristers Chambers practise in one area of law or
jurisdiction, whilst larger Chambers practise in a wide variety of legal
areas and jurisdictions.
Barristers in larger sets of Chambers may organise themselves into
practice groups that specialise in different areas of law, including
Commercial Law, Common Law, Criminal Law, Family Law, Personal Injury
and Immigration.
All are specialist advocates specialising in court appearances.
They also act as consultant legal advisors, providing legal advice in
complex and difficult legal matters, expressed in the form of written
advice, commonly referred to as "Counsel's Opinion".
Many barristers act as specialist mediators and arbitrators,
excelling themselves in this form of dispute resolution because of their
negotiation and compromise skills.
QCs | SCs
Queen's Counsel (QC) and Senior Counsel (SC) are the doyens of Court Lawyers.
QCs and SCs comprise about 10 per cent of the practising Bar in
each State or Territory and hold seniority and carry eminence within
their Chambers in the areas of law in which they practice. Senior
Counsel as they are collectively called, appear as advocates at trials
or on appeals, and usually accept instructions in the more complex and
difficult legal cases, applying their knowledge, skill and expertise in
pursuing those instructions.
Barristers' Clerks
Barristers' Chambers in the more populous States and Territories
are managed by Clerks in the overall operation of a Barristers Chamber.
Not only do Victorian barristers group themselves within
Barristers' Chambers, but also group themselves within Barrister's
Clerks "Lists" independent of their Chambers, taking the notion of legal
collectivism a step further.
Barristers in Queensland, although practising in groups within
specified Chambers, are more individually oriented and loosely
co-ordinated. They do not, as a rule, employ clerks in the day to day
management of their legal practice.
To assist you in locating a barrister in Queensland or any other state,
please use the 'Search by Barrister' feature in our easy to use locator pane,
(on the left in grey).
Go to the Home Page Search Facilities to locate fully profiled individual Queensland Court Lawyers, including Barristers.
Barristers' Clerk | Duties
One can understand the need of Barristers to engage professional Clerks. Here is a list of some of their normal daily duties...
- Prepares files and delivers books, documents and robes to and from Court
- Collects and delivers documents
- Carries out administrative duties, such as taking phone calls, messaging, filing and photocopying
- Attends to accounting and invoicing; collects fees
- Organises, indexes and maintains law libraries
- Manages a master Diary, which records each barrister's daily
schedule; keeps all information for the cases barristers are working on
up to date
- Arranges meetings and liaises between solicitors, clients and barristers
- Searches Court Lists for upcoming court appearances, and reorganises schedules when necessary
- Brings new business into Chambers, by internet and general advertising
- Allocates court appearances to barristers
- Negotiates barristers' fees