You will find answers to many of the more frequently asked questions about our services below. If you have a question that is not answered here, please let us know.

We provide services only to Irish solicitors and other professionals. 

We use 3 main sources of information to find the right barrister for you:

1. Database
Our proprietary database of barristers contains information on length of time in practice; type of practice to date and areas of expertise; arbitration and mediation practice; education and qualifications; publications; professional and personal activities; wins and losses; typical clients; and range of fees charged.

2. Inside knowledge of the Law Library
In daily contact with Irish barristers, we know about the qualities of individual counsel from their colleagues in the Law Library, invaluable information rarely available to solicitors, other professionals and their clients.

3. Feedback
We always ask for and act on feedback from users. We use your feedback to amend and update our database of counsel. Your feedback, and that of your fellow solicitors and other professionals from around Ireland, allows us to "rank" barristers better. Feedback on past performance is most often the deciding factor for us when selecting the right barrister to deal with your case.

No. Counsel are still briefed or instructed by you. We help you select the right counsel for your case and ensure that counsel does what you need them to. We simply organise your instructions to counsel.

No. We have no obligations or ties to any particular counsel. We are neither a "chambers" nor a partnership, nor do we maintain any fixed "panel" of counsel. Our mission is to obtain the best possible advice and representation available at the Irish Bar for you and your clients. To do so, we utilise the complete membership of the Law Library to the fullest possible extent every time, to find the right barrister for your matter from over 2,300 barristers currently in practice in Ireland.

No. The bottom line is that if you do not receive outstanding service from us, every time, you will not return. Therefore, we have a great incentive not to favour particular counsel and risk harming our reputation and the service standards we guarantee to Irish solicitors and other professionals.

Yes. Counsel operate on the "cab rank" rule and are bound to accept instructions in any case in the field in which they profess to practice, subject to the payment of a proper professional fee.* However, this rule contains so many exceptions that counsel can (and do) decline work for nearly any reason. With over 2,300 barristers currently practising in Ireland, we are always able to find you a competent and able barrister who is very happy to look after your case with the service standards you and your clients need.
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* Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland, Par. 2.14.

Barristers are governed by the Bar Council's Code of Conduct. Barristers are individually responsible for their own conduct and they must at all times uphold the standards set out in the Code of Conduct.* We organise your instructions only with barristers who hold up-to-date practising certificates, which indicate their good standing with the Bar Council. Barristers we use must also hold adequate professional indemnity insurance cover (minimum level of €1.5 million). _________________________________________________________________________________

* Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland, Par.2.14

No. We simply organise your instructions to counsel.

As before, you take instructions from your client. You and your client decide that counsel should be briefed. Counsel receives instructions from you through us and carries out work for you. The only difference is that you and your client now enjoy greater control over the process of briefing counsel, as we eliminate the hassle of finding the right barrister and of getting them to do what you need.

We will always tell you which counsel has received your instructions and you can of course discuss matters with them in the usual way. If you prefer, we can discuss the choice of counsel with you in advance. We're happy to discuss with you the counsel we use in more detail.

Brief Counsel Ltd adheres to the Law Society of Ireland's guidance on the avoidance of conflicts of interest, on privilege and on confidentiality.*

In addition, counsel are under a professional obligation to manage any possible issues of conflict of interest, privilege and confidentiality in their instructions in an appropriate manner, in accordance with the Code of Conduct of the Bar of Ireland.

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* A Guide to Professional Conduct of Solicitors in Ireland 2nd ed. (Law Society of Ireland, 2002)

Our services are free for Irish solicitors and other professionals. For more information, please view our Costs page.

Yes. Send us the papers with a request to arrange for competitive tendering, and we will contact you to discuss the matter further.

Our services are provided free of charge to Irish solicitors, other professionals and their clients. Counsel pay a small  service charge for the services we provide to them.

No. Counsel we use undertake not to add our service charge to their fee. Our service charge is a business expense borne by counsel. We are happy to discuss with you the service charges paid to us by counsel. If you can obtain a lower written fee quote from comparable counsel for your matter, we will do our best to beat it.

We recognise that solicitors and other professionals commonly form ongoing working relationships with counsel if they "find the right one". Our services are not intended to interfere with this process. However, we believe that you will continue to brief such counsel through us, to guarantee continued high service standards. Also, should that barrister become unavailable for whatever reason, we're always here to find another outstanding barrister for you, without any risk or hassle.

Most Irish solicitors have only a small number of cases that end up in litigation or that need advocacy services. Solicitors engaging in higher-court advocacy themselves experience time costs and overheads, as they also maintain their busy office practices with high levels of client contact. Advocacy and litigation work is generally not as profitable or productive for solicitors as the other types of work that they more regularly engage in.

There is available to all Irish solicitors and other professionals a deep pool of highly-qualified and specialist advocates, whose working environment is the courts of Ireland. Barristers provide Irish solicitors and other professionals with a cost-effective service and are generally cheaper than solicitors for most routine litigation, advocacy and related work.

A further important consideration is that a solicitor "will not be liable in negligence if he fully presents his client's case to appropriate and competent counsel and then reasonably (as opposed to blindly) relies on the advices he receives."* Using Brief Counsel Ltd is the best way for solicitors and other professionals to ensure that counsel is appropriate, competent and properly instructed for the case at hand.

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* Patrick Groarke (solicitor and consultant to the Law Society's Litigation Committee), "Professional Pitfalls", Law Society Gazette, July 2003, p. 12 at 16.