How direct access barristers can accept fees on account

By Legal Futures Associate dospay

Direct access barristers face a practical dilemma. Clients increasingly expect to pay (and barristers increasingly would prefer to receive) fees on account, yet Bar Standards Board rule rC73 prohibits a barrister from “receiving, controlling or handling client money apart from what the client pays you for your services.” For those operating under the Public Access Scheme, that restriction has long created a tension between regulatory compliance and commercial reality.

dospay, the UK’s specialist third-party managed account (‘ TPMA ’) provider, resolves that tension by enabling direct-access barristers to offer modern, flexible payment structures without breaching the prohibition on holding client funds.

A regulated, compliant solution

dospay’s TPMA fra