Public access for clerks

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About the course

Continued growth in public access work and its adoption by many chambers has inevitable consequences for the way the clerks’ room functions. For the first time, clerks are required to deal directly with lay clients, take payments from lay clients, apply anti-money laundering regulations appropriately and liaise with intermediaries. These are all areas of significant BSB regulatory risk.  

Public access for clerks training will give you an appreciation of the respective roles of the public access barrister and the public access clerk, an understanding of the BSB regulatory requirements, and insights into how to manage the expectations of the lay client.

The workshop examines the processes and procedures needed to safeguard and effectively manage the many risk areas arising in public access work. The BSB regulatory framework is explored, and there is sharp focus on the skills required to ensure excellence in client care, case management and the support of the public access barrister in the provision of public access work.

What areas does the course cover?

• What is public access and where does it fit into the current regulatory and commercial environment?
• Reviewing the application of the BSB Handbook rules and how they should be applied risk sensitively
• Understanding what additional resources, systems and processes will be needed to effectively support your public access barristers and their public access clients
• Understanding the risks inherent within a public access matter/case and how to manage and mitigate those risks
• Developing an empathetic relationship with the public access client to deliver their objectives and manage their expectations
• When it is appropriate to refuse to accept instructions from lay clients or their intermediary
• The rules governing barristers' actions if the client is likely to be eligible for public funding
• How fees can be calculated and the rule against 'fees on account'
• The administrative undertaking and model client care letters
• The relevant insurance implications (indemnity and after-the-event)
• How the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 affect a public access practice
• When the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) 2002 apply to public access work

CPD

• 4 hours

Price

• Standard ticket: £200 (plus VAT)

Book 

• Book your place

Further information

• The public access course is a trainer-led course requiring individual participation and group work throughout, and takes place over 1.5 days
• Day 1 runs from 9am to 5.30pm; day 2 runs from 9am to 1.45pm
• Pre-course work and joining instructions are circulated one week before the course start date to confirmed delegates
• Pre-course work is expected to take no more than three hours. To successfully complete the course, you must attend in full