What is a barristers' clerk?
A barristers’ clerk acts as agent for a group of barristers, known as a List. The clerk is the solicitor’s point of contact: they know the skills, experience and availability of every barrister on the List, advise on who suits a matter, negotiate the fee, book the brief into the diary, and handle the billing that follows.
Why barristers work through clerks
Barristers are required to practise as sole practitioners, bound by strict ethical rules including the obligation to give advice independently. Each carries their own practice and their own diary, without the shared administration a firm provides.
That creates a practical problem. A barrister who is in court all week cannot answer the phone to a solicitor who needs counsel by Thursday. The clerk resolves it. One clerk’s office holds the diaries, fee arrangements and availability of an entire List, so a solicitor makes one call instead of many. The Victorian Bar describes the clerking system as long-established and as one of the important means by which it reduces barriers to entry to the profession.
Clerks are licensed by the Victorian Bar
Every barristers’ clerk operating in Victoria holds a licence issued by the Bar Council under the Clerking Regulations 2020. To be licensed, a clerk must be a fit and proper person, financially viable, and able to provide adequate services, and the Bar Council can revoke the licence if those standards are not maintained.
The licence carries obligations that matter to the people paying a barrister’s fees. A clerk must operate a single barristers’ clearing account for all money received on behalf of barristers, must pay or credit that money to the barrister within five business days of receipt, and must have the account independently audited every financial year by an auditor qualified to audit trust money. Each List has its own committee of barristers, which confirms to the Bar Council annually that its clerk has complied.
What a clerk does for a solicitor
- Advises on who suits the matter. A clerk is familiar with the skills, expertise, experience and availability of every barrister on their List, and can advise on suitability as well as seniority. Where a solicitor is unsure who would be right, the Bar’s own guidance is to contact a clerk.
- Confirms availability. The clerk can say whether a barrister is free on a particular date, because the List’s diary sits with them and is updated in real time.
- Negotiates the fee on the barrister’s behalf.
- Books the brief. Where the barrister is available and suitable, the clerk can enter the brief into the diary immediately.
- Handles the accounts. Clerks’ accounts staff raise fee slips, process barristers’ fee accounts to solicitors, collect payment and manage credit control.
- Puts every barrister forward fairly. A clerk’s familiarity with the whole List is what allows every barrister an equal opportunity to be recommended when a matter in their area arises.
What a clerk does for a barrister
From the barrister’s side, the clerk’s office is the practice management a sole practitioner would otherwise have to provide themselves: practice management, professional development, fee negotiation, bookings and schedule management. Clerks employ junior clerks, marketing, reception and administrative staff, and accounts staff who process fee accounts, manage payments to barristers and follow up outstanding fees. A barrister who is in court can be briefed while they are in court, because someone else is answering.
What does a clerk cost the solicitor or client?
Nothing is charged to the solicitor or the client for the clerk’s services. A clerk is paid by the barristers on their List, by way of a clerking commission. The Clerking Regulations provide for the clerk’s fee to be deducted from the barrister’s money before it is paid to the barrister.
The relationship between a barrister and their clerk is principally a contractual one, and the terms are a matter between them.
A clerk is not a solicitor
A clerk gives no legal advice and takes no part in running your matter. They will tell you that a barrister is available, what the nature of their practice is and what they charge. They will not advise on your prospects or on how the matter should be run. That is the solicitor’s work, and the barrister’s.
Victoria's clerking Lists
Thirteen barristers’ clerking Lists operate in Victoria, and each represents a different group of barristers. They differ in size and in the work their barristers do.