1. Introduction
These terms and conditions (Terms) apply to your use of the Barristers Direct service and website (Service), which are owned and maintained by Barristers Direct Ltd. These Terms should be read together with our privacy policy (Privacy Policy), available from barristersdirect.ie, which explains how we use your personal information.
Please read these Terms carefully before making a booking. By submitting a booking, making a payment or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not proceed with the booking or use the Service.
We may update these Terms from time to time. The Terms applicable to a booking will be the version made available to you at the time you make that booking, subject to any changes required by law.
2. About Us
We are Barristers Direct Ltd, a company registered in Ireland with registered address at Suite 122, Capel Building, Mary’s Abbey, Dublin 7 (“Barristers Direct”, “we”, “us” or “our”).
If you have questions, complaints or comments about the Service or these Terms, please contact contact@barristersdirect.ie.
3. The Service and Barrister Selection
Barristers Direct provides a managed service through which you can book and pay for an initial consultation with a barrister. You submit information about your legal issue through our online booking form. Barristers Direct reviews the information and selects an appropriate barrister from its network, taking account of the nature of the enquiry and the information available.
We may contact you after payment to request further information or documents that we reasonably need to assess the enquiry, identify an appropriate barrister or make the consultation arrangements. We will advise you of the barrister we have selected before your consultation. You may request a different barrister if for any reason you do not wish to proceed with the barrister we have selected.
Payment does not, by itself, mean that a particular barrister has accepted instructions, that a solicitor-client or barrister-client engagement has been formed, or that a consultation appointment is confirmed. We will communicate the status of your booking and any next steps to you.
The initial consultation is a limited consultation with the barrister allocated by Barristers Direct. Any further legal services, representation or work after that consultation are not included in the initial consultation fee unless expressly agreed in writing. Any further engagement will be subject to arrangements and terms agreed with the relevant legal practitioner.
Barristers Direct does not itself provide legal advice or act as your legal representative. Any legal advice you receive is provided by the relevant barrister, and any legal engagement is between you and the relevant legal practitioner, subject to the terms agreed with that practitioner. Barristers Direct does not guarantee any particular legal outcome.
4. Booking Form and Information Provided
You must provide information that is true, accurate, complete to the best of your knowledge and kept up to date. You must promptly tell us if information relevant to your booking changes.
The booking form asks whether formal legal proceedings have already commenced. You must answer this question accurately and disclose any relevant details requested by the form. The answer is used to determine the applicable consultation fee and may also be relevant to how your enquiry can appropriately be handled.
If you are unsure whether formal legal proceedings have commenced, or how to answer a question on the form, contact Barristers Direct before paying. Do not assume that submitting the form or paying the fee means that Barristers Direct or a barrister has accepted instructions in relation to proceedings.
We may contact you after payment to ask for additional information or documents. You agree to respond reasonably promptly. Delays in receiving necessary information may delay the review of your enquiry or the arrangement of a consultation.
5. Consultation Fees, VAT and Payment
The applicable fee is determined by your answer to the question about whether formal legal proceedings have commenced:
- If formal legal proceedings have not commenced, a barrister-only consultation is €395 plus VAT, currently €485.85 including VAT at 23%.
- If formal legal proceedings have commenced it is necessary for the barrister to be attended by a solicitor at the consultation and the cost of this is €595 plus VAT, currently €731.85 including VAT at 23%.
The applicable total, including VAT, will be displayed before you submit payment. If the applicable VAT rate changes, the total inclusive of VAT may change accordingly. The fee applies to the initial consultation only and does not include further legal work, court representation, ongoing advice, or other services unless expressly stated.
Payment must be made through the payment method presented on the website. Your booking is not treated as paid until payment has been successfully confirmed by our payment provider. A payment confirmation or receipt will be sent to the email address you provide.
You authorise us and our payment service provider to process the payment for the fee displayed at checkout. You must ensure that the payment details you provide are valid and that you are authorised to use the selected payment method.
If you select the wrong proceedings status or provide materially inaccurate information, contact us promptly. We may need to review the booking and contact you before proceeding. We will not charge a different amount without providing an appropriate explanation and, where required, obtaining your agreement.
6. Booking, Appointment and Follow-up
An appointment is confirmed only when Barristers Direct sends you an appointment confirmation. A payment receipt alone is not an appointment confirmation.
After payment, Barristers Direct may review your information and contact you for further details or documents. We may need this information before allocating a barrister or confirming the consultation. You should not send original documents unless we specifically request them, and you should retain copies of any documents you provide.
You are responsible for ensuring that you can participate in the consultation using the stated method, which may include telephone, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet or another method notified to you. You should provide a working telephone number and email address and check your messages for booking updates.
7. Proceedings and Professional Requirements
If your matter concerns formal legal proceedings, additional professional or procedural requirements may apply. Depending on the nature of the matter and the applicable professional rules, a solicitor may need to be involved and a barrister may not be able to accept direct instructions from you.
Barristers Direct may ask further questions or explain what arrangements are required before a consultation can proceed. If we cannot arrange the consultation you have paid for, we will contact you about the available options, including any applicable refund. Nothing in these Terms requires a barrister to accept instructions contrary to applicable law or professional obligations.
8. Cancellations, Rescheduling and Refunds
8.1 Nature of the consultation fee
The consultation fee is payable in consideration of the arrangement and provision of a consultation with a barrister, including the barrister’s professional time, consideration of the information provided, and the opportunity for the client to obtain legal advice. The fee is not conditional on the client agreeing with the advice given, considering the advice helpful, achieving a particular result, or deciding to take any further action.
8.2 Refunds after a consultation has taken place
Once a consultation has taken place, Barristers Direct’s general policy is that the consultation fee is non-refundable. A refund will not ordinarily be provided solely because the client:
- disagrees with, is dissatisfied with, or does not accept the advice or opinion given by the barrister;
- considers that the advice was not helpful, useful, sufficiently detailed or what they expected;
- is disappointed by the options, recommendations or likely prospects explained during the consultation;
- does not achieve the outcome they wanted or hoped for;
- decides not to act on the advice, pursue the matter further, or instruct a barrister for additional work; or
- subsequently obtains a different opinion or advice from another legal professional.
The purpose of a legal consultation is to provide an independent professional assessment based on the information available to the barrister. That assessment may identify difficulties, risks, limitations or prospects that differ from the client’s expectations. The fact that the advice is unwelcome, unfavourable or does not lead to the client’s preferred outcome does not, by itself, entitle the client to a refund.
8.3 Exceptions and complaints
Nothing in this section limits any rights the client may have under applicable law. Barristers Direct will consider refund requests where, for example, the consultation did not take place, there was a material failure in the provision of the service, or other circumstances justify a refund under applicable law or the circumstances of the booking.
A client who believes that the consultation was not provided as agreed, or who has a concern about the service received, should contact Barristers Direct at contact@barristersdirect.ie and explain the circumstances. Barristers Direct will consider the concern fairly and on its individual merits. Making a complaint does not automatically entitle the client to a refund, and a refund will not ordinarily be given merely because the client is dissatisfied with the substance or outcome of the advice.
8.4 Cancellations and rescheduling before a consultation
A client who wishes to cancel or reschedule a consultation should contact Barristers Direct at contact@barristersdirect.ie as soon as possible. Any refund or rescheduling request made before the consultation will be considered in accordance with the cancellation arrangements communicated to the client at the time of booking and applicable law.
8.5 Missed appointments and late cancellations
If a client fails to attend a scheduled consultation, arrives too late for the consultation to proceed, or seeks to cancel at short notice, Barristers Direct may be unable to recover the barrister’s reserved time. Any entitlement to a refund or rescheduling in those circumstances will be determined in accordance with the cancellation arrangements provided at booking and applicable law. The client should contact Barristers Direct promptly if an unexpected circumstance prevents attendance.
8.6 No exclusion of statutory rights
Nothing in these Terms and Conditions excludes or restricts any consumer right, remedy or entitlement that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted. Where applicable law requires a refund or other remedy, Barristers Direct will comply with that requirement. Any refund due will be handled through the original payment method where reasonably possible.
9. Recording and Synopsis of Consultation
By accepting these terms and conditions you consent to an automatically generated recording and/or synopsis of your consultation being created and being provided to you after the consultation.
10. Your Use of the Service
You agree that:
(a) the information and details you provide to us are true, accurate and up to date; and
(b) you will comply with these Terms and applicable law.
You must not:
(a) use the Service for an unlawful purpose or in a way that infringes another person’s rights or restricts their use of the Service;
(b) interfere with, damage or impair the Service or its security;
(c) impersonate another person, misrepresent your connection with a person or entity, or provide false or misleading information;
(d) upload or transmit files containing viruses or other harmful programs;
(e) copy, modify, reverse-engineer, decompile or otherwise tamper with software, databases or technology forming part of the Service; or
(f) use the Service to disseminate defamatory, obscene, harassing, threatening, abusive or otherwise unlawful content.
We may suspend or restrict access to the Service where we have reasonable grounds to believe that you have breached these Terms or where necessary to protect the Service, users or our legal rights. This does not affect any rights you may have under applicable law.
All intellectual property rights in the website and Service, including its design, text, graphics, software and databases, belong to Barristers Direct or its licensors. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, sell or otherwise exploit that material without permission, except as permitted by law.
11. Availability and Website Content
We aim to keep the Service available but do not guarantee that the website will be uninterrupted or free from errors. We may suspend the Service where reasonably necessary for maintenance, updates, security or other operational reasons.
Website content is general information about Barristers Direct and the Service; it is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such. We take reasonable precautions in relation to website security but cannot guarantee that the Service will always be free from harmful code or third-party interference.
12. Third-party Websites and Payment Providers
The Service may link to third-party websites or use third-party service providers, including payment, video-conferencing, scheduling or communications providers. Those services may be subject to their own terms and privacy policies. We do not control third-party websites and are not responsible for their independent content or services, subject to any responsibilities imposed on us by law.
Payment processing may be provided by a third party. Your payment information will be processed in accordance with the applicable provider’s processes and privacy terms. Barristers Direct does not intend to store your full payment card details on its own systems.
13. Limits on Liability
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where such exclusion or limitation is prohibited by law, including any rights you may have as a consumer.
Subject to the preceding paragraph, Barristers Direct is not responsible for legal advice given by a barrister, the conduct of legal proceedings, or the outcome of your matter. Any complaint about the professional legal services provided by a barrister should be raised through the appropriate channel, without limiting any rights you may have under law.
To the extent permitted by law, Barristers Direct will not be liable for indirect or consequential loss arising from use of the website or Service. This clause does not exclude liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, wilful misconduct, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
14. Personal Data
We collect and use personal data you provide in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Information submitted through the booking form may include details about your legal matter and may be shared with the barrister allocated to your enquiry, and with a solicitor or service provider where appropriate and necessary to arrange or administer the consultation.
Please do not submit information about other people unless it is relevant and you are entitled to provide it. Please read the Privacy Policy for details of data use, retention, disclosure and your rights.
15. Complaints and Contact
If you have a question, concern or complaint about the booking process, payment or Service, please contact contact@barristersdirect.ie. We will review your message and respond within a reasonable time. This process does not prevent you from exercising any statutory rights or using any applicable external complaint process.
16. Dispute Resolution
Any controversy or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms and/or the use of the Service shall be settled by arbitration. The place of arbitration shall be Dublin, Ireland. The language to be used in the arbitral proceedings shall be English. The Arbitration Tribunal shall consist of a single arbitrator appointed by agreement between the parties or, failing agreement between the parties within 30 days after a request for arbitration is made by any party, appointed on the application of any party by the Chairperson for the time being of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Ireland Branch.
17. General
If any provision of these Terms is found to be unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply to the extent permitted by law.
These Terms are governed by the laws of Ireland, subject to any mandatory consumer protection rules that apply to you.