Barrister Conference Coming Up? How to Prepare a Briefing Pack That Makes the Meeting Count

The short answer

Before a conference with counsel, prepare a one-page case overview, the latest orders and deadlines, a proportionate chronology, a short issues list, a carefully selected document index and the questions that you need answered. Check with the barrister or instructing solicitor what papers have already been supplied and in which format.

A conference pack is a working preparation tool, not automatically a court bundle, a witness statement or a formal legal brief. Do not circulate confidential children’s proceedings material, privileged advice or protected personal data to a third party without checking the applicable rules and arrangements.

1. What should you actually get from a barrister’s conference?

A conference is a meeting with a barrister. It may take place in person or remotely, and may involve the client, solicitor and other appropriate participants. Its exact purpose depends on the barrister’s instructions. A conference before a fact-finding hearing has a different purpose from one exploring a potential appeal, giving advice on a property dispute or preparing for a financial remedy final hearing.

The meeting may be used to obtain clear instructions, identify disputed facts, discuss strengths and weaknesses, consider evidence or directions, clarify what orders are sought, evaluate realistic options, or prepare for a forthcoming hearing.

It is not necessarily the place to recount every historical event from the beginning. The most important thing is that counsel can understand the legal and factual problems requiring attention.

2. Establish what the barrister is instructed to do

If you have a solicitor, they may already have sent a formal brief or instructions to counsel with selected papers. Ask what the barrister has received. Do not independently send different, contradictory case summaries without discussing how your legal team wants the information organised.

If you have instructed counsel through Public Access, review the barrister’s client care letter and the terms of the instruction. A barrister may advise or represent you within the scope of their authority and retainer, but that is not the same as agreeing to conduct every procedural step.

The Bar Standards Board’s public-access guidance makes clear that Public Access involves specific conditions and that barristers must assess the suitability of the matter. The position of an individual barrister depends on their authorisation and terms of engagement.

• Clarify the conference’s purpose and expected duration.
• Check whether counsel has been instructed for a hearing as well as a conference.
• Ask whether you should provide new documents to the solicitor, chambers or another authorised recipient.
• Agree whether there will be a written advice note, further drafting or a follow-up call.
• Establish who retains responsibility for filing, service and compliance with court orders.

3. The ten-part client briefing pack

The following structure is a practical starting point. It should be adapted to the case and to any requirements specified by chambers or the instructing solicitor. Not every case needs every section.

Do not treat this table as a demand to send all records. Counsel may already have some or all of the documents. A carefully structured index can be more useful than another copy of a large file.

4. The five questions to decide before you walk into the room

1. What is the next decision? Identify the application, direction or hearing requiring advice.
2. What outcome am I asking for? State it in a way that is realistic and connected to the relevant issues.
3. What remains genuinely disputed? Separate allegations, admissions, professional opinion and judicial findings.
4. Which three documents matter most? Select the current order, central report and key source evidence, where relevant.
5. What must happen after the conference? Identify actions, responsible persons and dates.

Write the questions in plain English. It is fine to say that you do not understand why a particular step is proposed. An accurately identified gap in understanding is more useful than a rehearsed legal phrase that does not quite mean what you think it means.

Questions you may want counsel to answer

• Which issue is likely to be determinative at the next hearing?
• Is there a procedural deadline or direction I have misunderstood?
• Which evidence can properly be relied on, and which material requires permission or further work?
• What are the major weaknesses in my position, not only the strengths?
• What practical choices do I have, and what are their consequences?
• What should I do immediately after this meeting?

5. A chronology should orient, not overwhelm

A long and complicated case may generate several different chronologies: a complete private chronology for organisation, a short conference chronology, and a formal court chronology. These are not interchangeable documents.

For the conference, start with the event or order that explains the present problem. Give sufficient historical context to understand the issue; do not make the barrister read everything that happened during a decade of litigation before learning what is happening next week.

These illustrative entries are fictional. Their purpose is to show that a chronology should mark the status of information rather than quietly convert every recorded statement into established fact.

For detailed guidance, see JSH Law’s Evidence & Chronology Help page.

6. Give counsel a route to the evidence, not an uncontrolled document dump

If the conference is intended to address a professional report, identify the paragraphs you dispute, state why they matter and refer to the source record. If it is about arrangements for a child, identify the welfare and safeguarding questions relevant to the current stage. If it concerns property, show the relevant title documents, transactions or written agreements in an orderly way.

It is rarely helpful to send repeated exports of the same WhatsApp conversation, screenshots without dates, out-of-context quotations or several differently named versions of a draft. Preserve the originals and create a usable register.

Remember the distinction between working papers and court bundles

The revised Practice Direction 27A (in force 2 March 2026) contains detailed requirements for family court bundles. It specifies who normally has responsibility for preparation, filing and service, limits what should be included, and imposes separate structural requirements for different types of family proceedings.

In particular, PD27A does not require a court bundle to contain every text message, social-media exchange, bank statement or photograph. The documents must be relevant and necessary for the hearing, subject to directions. A working briefing pack for counsel is not itself the court bundle and should not be filed or circulated as though it were.

7. Domestic abuse, safeguarding and confidential material

If the case includes allegations of domestic abuse or coercive control, the information counsel needs may not sit neatly in a list of isolated incidents. A pattern may only become visible when communications, consequences and third-party material are examined together. Do not remove important context for the sake of shortening the chronology.

Equally, be precise about the evidential status. An allegation is not a judicial finding. A professional report is not automatically a determination of fact. A child’s stated wishes and feelings require careful handling within the welfare and safeguarding framework.

Before disclosing Family Court records to anybody outside the existing legal team, consider the relevant rules, any court directions and the purpose for which information is being shared.

In children proceedings, FPR 12.75 and Practice Direction 12G govern certain communications for support, advice and assistance. The provisions do not grant a general right to publish, onward-disclose or upload sensitive records to any service.

8. Example: a one-page conference brief

This is an organisational illustration, not an official Family Court form or a replacement for the instructions prepared by a solicitor. If counsel or chambers supplies its own required format, follow that instead.

If the case concerns property, finances or an appeal, the headings should change accordingly. The value lies in clarity and source identification, not in forcing every case into a single template.

9. What changes if you already have a solicitor?

A solicitor may be arranging the conference, preparing formal instructions, selecting the relevant papers and recording the advice afterwards. In that situation, the client’s first responsibility is to clarify what the solicitor has already done and what information they are asking the client to supply.

Sometimes the solicitor needs a small number of factual answers or documents rather than another extensive narrative. Giving the solicitor an organised source register may help them prepare counsel’s instructions within their professional responsibilities.

Avoid sending the barrister a competing ‘alternative brief’ without coordinating with your solicitor. That risks inconsistent accounts, unnecessary cost and confusion over the person giving instructions. If you think an important document or safeguarding issue has been missed, identify it clearly and ask how it should be raised.

Our earlier Legally Serious guide to support alongside a solicitor or barrister explains the separate, non-reserved tasks JSH Law may assist with and the boundaries that apply.

10. Direct Access barrister: who is responsible for preparation?

Some clients instruct counsel directly because they want specialist advice or hearing representation without instructing a solicitor for the entire case. This can be appropriate, but the client needs to understand which procedural and administrative responsibilities remain with them.

The Bar Standards Board requires barristers taking public-access work to meet relevant rules and assess the client’s suitability for this way of working. The client care documentation should explain the agreed scope.

If the barrister is not authorised and instructed to conduct litigation, do not assume they can issue proceedings, manage all filing and service obligations or take over the conduct of the claim. Equally, an independent document-preparation provider does not become an authorised litigation representative merely because the client has instructed counsel.

The practical work may include indexing documents, preparing working summaries or organising instructions for review, but the formal legal role and responsibility must be clear from the outset.

11. A simple countdown before the conference

1. At booking: confirm the purpose, format, estimated duration, fees and documents counsel wants in advance.
2. Several days ahead: identify the latest order, significant dates, live issues and questions requiring advice.
3. Before the document deadline: send the required materials through the agreed secure route; check that they have been received.
4. The day before: read the short overview, prepare a way to take notes and mark your non-negotiable questions.
5. During the conference: ask for clarification where needed and identify the concrete next steps.
6. Afterwards: record the tasks, deadlines, responsible persons and any advice requiring confirmation in writing.

The actual timeframe will depend on chambers, the retainer and the urgency of the matter. If the conference is tomorrow and counsel has already specified instructions, prioritise those directions over producing an elaborate new document.

12. How JSH Law can help before counsel’s conference

JSH Law can consider a separately paid, clearly scoped task focused on getting information ready for your own review or for the existing legal team to consider. This is non-reserved practical preparation, not replacement legal representation.

• Creating or refining a source-based chronology from an agreed document set.
• Preparing an evidence index with dates, descriptions and file references.
• Comparing passages of a professional report against identified source records.
• Organising your own factual questions for a forthcoming legal conference.
• Producing a structured, limited working case overview or document map.
• Checking that the client’s working documents are consistent and easy to navigate.

We do not conduct litigation, undertake reserved advocacy as of right, replace counsel’s legal judgment or instruct counsel as your solicitor. Where you already have representation, the scope must respect that arrangement.

13. Questions clients commonly ask

Do I need a lawyer to create a chronology for counsel?

A client can prepare their own working chronology. Practical non-reserved assistance may be available with organisation and source checking. Whether a document can be used formally in proceedings is a separate question governed by the relevant rules, orders and professional responsibilities.

Should I send counsel every email and WhatsApp message?

No automatic rule requires that. Ask counsel or the solicitor what materials they need and keep the underlying originals available. The relevant court bundle rules and directions are different from the papers counsel may need to consider.

What if I think my solicitor has omitted evidence?

Identify the document precisely, why it matters and the issue it concerns. Ask your solicitor how it should be handled rather than circulating a competing bundle or assuming the omission is deliberate.

Can JSH Law attend the conference with me?

That depends on the arrangement, the consent of relevant participants, confidentiality and the scope of JSH Law’s services. Do not assume that an additional person may attend or be privy to legal advice without suitable agreement.

How early should I arrange preparation support?

As early as possible, ideally once the conference date and purpose are known. It may not be sensible to commission substantial work where counsel has already been properly briefed or the deadline makes careful source checking unrealistic.

Does this apply to a TOLATA or financial remedy conference?

The general principles of focused instructions, reliable documents and clear questions can apply, but the procedural rules and evidence requirements differ. In a civil property dispute, the Civil Procedure Rules may apply, rather than the Family Procedure Rules. A regulated legal adviser should be responsible for the applicable legal advice.

14. Official sources and related JSH Law resources

This article is based on the following official materials for England and Wales. The precise procedural framework depends on the nature of your proceedings.

• Bar Standards Board — Public and Licensed Access
• Family Procedure Practice Direction 27A (2026) — Court Bundles
• Family Procedure Rules, Part 12 — Communication of Information
• Practice Direction 12G — Communication of Information
• JSH Law — Already Have a Solicitor or Barrister?
• JSH Law — Family Court Hearing Preparation
• JSH Law — Evidence & Chronology Help

Make the time with your barrister count.

If you have a conference booked and need help organising factual materials, JSH Law can consider a defined-scope chronology, evidence register or preparation brief alongside your existing legal advisers. We agree the task and fee before work begins, and check the confidentiality and sharing arrangements first.

When you enquire, tell us: the date of the conference, the type of proceedings, who is currently instructed, what counsel has asked for and the approximate document volume. Please don’t upload confidential case materials before the appropriate sharing arrangements are agreed.

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