Public access

The Public Access scheme, operated under the Bar Standards Board Handbook, allows a member of the public to instruct a barrister directly rather than going to a solicitor and having the solicitor instruct counsel. Mr Islam is a public access barrister and accepts instructions on that basis.

He is also authorised to conduct litigation. In practice that means the steps a solicitor would ordinarily take on your behalf — issuing the application, filing and serving documents, corresponding with the court and with the other side — can be handled here as well, so a single person carries the case from the first letter to the final order.

This route is not right for every case. Where a matter needs a large amount of evidence-gathering, or where you would not be able to manage your side of the paperwork, that will be said plainly at the outset and you will be advised to instruct a solicitor instead.

Family law: child arrangements, prohibited steps and specific issue applications, non-molestation and occupation orders, fact-finding and final hearings, financial remedy proceedings under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, and claims between cohabiting partners under TOLATA 1996.

Immigration law: appeals in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, asylum, human rights and nationality matters, and applications and written representations to the Home Office and to Entry Clearance Officers, including leave to remain, leave to enter and Indefinite Leave to Remain.

No other areas of law are undertaken. Keeping the practice to these two fields is deliberate.

Send an outline of the matter and any listed hearing date through the enquiry form or by e-mail to info@thameschambers.com. You will be told promptly whether the instruction can be accepted, and whether there is any conflict or listing difficulty.

Where it can be accepted, the next step is a conference — in person, by telephone or by video. Your papers are read before that meeting, the merits and the realistic outcomes are explained, and you leave knowing what the next stage is, what it will cost and what is needed from you.

Before any work begins you receive a client care letter setting out the scope of the work, the fee for each stage, what is excluded, the expected timetable and when payment is due. Work starts once that letter is agreed.

How long a case takes depends on matters outside anyone's control: the court's or tribunal's listing, the volume of documents, the number of parties, whether expert or interpreter evidence is required, and how the other side conducts itself. As a general guide, a straightforward application often reaches a first hearing within a few months of being issued.

Written advice is normally provided within 7 to 14 days of receiving complete papers, and sooner where a deadline requires it. If your matter is urgent, or a hearing is already listed at short notice, say so in your first message so availability can be confirmed immediately.

Work on public access is undertaken for a fixed fee. Every brief is quoted individually, because the fee depends on the nature of the hearing or application, the papers, the number of parties and the court's time estimate. The figure is agreed in writing before the work starts, so you know the cost of each stage in advance rather than receiving an open-ended bill.

Fees on a direct access matter are payable in advance of the stage to which they relate. Indicative fee schedules for family and immigration work can be downloaded from the Transparency of fees page, and the terms on which instructions are accepted are on the Contractual terms page.

Thames Chambers does not undertake legal aid work, so a case cannot be funded by public funding here. If you think you may be eligible for legal aid, Civil Legal Advice and the gov.uk legal aid eligibility checker will tell you, and a legal aid solicitor can then take the matter forward.

If you are not eligible, or you would prefer the certainty of a fixed fee, public access remains open to you.

The Public Access scheme is run under the Bar Standards Board Handbook. The BSB publishes guidance for members of the public who want to instruct a barrister directly, explaining how the scheme works and what to expect. Mr Islam is regulated by the Bar Standards Board and holds a current practising certificate; his record can be checked on the Barristers' Register maintained by the BSB.

For a quotation, e-mail info@thameschambers.com or send a message on WhatsApp to +44 (0) 798 567 0102. Please include the type of matter, the court or tribunal involved and any hearing date already listed.