Online find-a-barrister service launched

A new online find-a-barrister service for businesses and members of the public has been launched. The service is called myBarrister and was established with the aim of dispensing with the need for solicitors to act as middlemen between clients and barristers.

Approximately 100 barristers are currently registered on the service nationwide, covering a range of practice areas such as personal injury, criminal defence, intellectual property, family, employment and various aspects of commercial law. 

Users outline their requirements and search for barristers specialising in that area, before being granted a free initial discussion with a barrister to discuss the problem. Fees can be arranged on a fixed basis. The myBarrister site is also free to use and adds no additional costs to its barristers' services; the service makes money by charging its barristers for an annual subscription to its register.

Chris Bean, myBarrister's chief executive, said: "The aim is that by the end of the year, myBarrister will be the largest single source of barristers in the country. We want to give people the ability to come to a barrister first. Getting a specialist on board right from the start means the person making the enquiry can see what their options are immediately, and from that point they can plan how they're going to proceed. This can save huge amounts of time and money further down the road.

We also want to dispel the myth that all barristers are posh, male, ridiculously expensive, based in London and should only be involved when a case ends up in court."