What should I put in my brief to Counsel?

There are two key components of a brief to Counsel: a Letter of Instruction and Copy Documents.

Instructions. A letter of instruction has two purposes. It sets out the background and it tells your barrister what it is you want him to do. There is no hard and fast rules as to what to put in your letter of instruction. Common sense is the best guide. However the following are generally required in every case:

• Who you are and whom you act for.

• Who your dispute or potential dispute is with and the nature of it (eg ‘claim for unfair dismissal brought by former employee’,  ‘dispute over rights of access to delivery yard’, ' allegation of professiona misconduct', etc)

• A brief background. The best way to explain a problem is usually to set out the relevant events in chronological order. There is no need to go in to detail if the facts can be ascertained from the accompanying documents. It is important however to include anything that will not be apparent from the documents, for example details of conversations or phonecalls.

• Any relevant deadlines (eg a hearing date, a time limit for serving evidence or accepting an offer).

• What you want the barrister to do (eg ‘to represent the respondent at the trial listed for . . .’ or ‘to advise on the following three questions . . .’

Correspondence with a barrister is traditionally addressed to his or her clerk. You can send your letter of instruction to ‘Clerk to Mr/Mrs/Miss …….’ followed by the chambers address. If you do not know the name of the person you wish to instruct and you want the clerks to help you find an appropriate barrister simply write to Public Access Clerks at 4 King’s Bench Walk.


Copy documents. Your barrister will need to see relevant documents, be it correspondence, emails, statements, photographs, plans, videos, etc. Again the best guide as to what to include is common sense. The following points however are important and apply in every case.

• The documents must be accompanied by a typed List of Documents on which the name or description of each document is set out. The List of Documents may form part of your letter of instruction or it may be a separate schedule. For your protection your barrister is obliged to keep a copy of this list for seven years.

• All the documents you send must be copies. Barristers do not have the same facilities for storing files as solicitors and the Bar Council’s rules on public access do not oblige a barrister to retain documents. Thus for your protection you should keep all originals and only send copies to your barrister. In an exceptional case where it is not possible to provide a copy please contact our clerks who will assist with making arrangements for safe delivery and return.

You do not incur any liability for fees simply by sending a Letter of Instruction to 4 King’s Bench Walk. The clerks will pass your case to a public access barrister who specialises in the relevant area. He will review the papers to ensure the case is suitable for a public access instruction. The clerks will contact you to agree a fee for the work you want your barrister to do. You will only incur liability for any fees when you have approved, signed and returned our standard client care letter.

In some cases statute requires a barrister to perform checks to verify the identity of his client. If this applies the clerks will contact you and inform you of the appropriate requirements.