law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, a barrister's chambers or barristers' chambers are the rooms used by a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

or a group of barristers. The singular refers to the use by a

sole practitioner A sole practitioner or solo practitioner is a professional, such as a lawyer or an architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connecti ...

whereas the plural refers to a group of barristers who, while acting as sole practitioners, share costs and expenses for office overheads. The concept of barristers' chambers is commonly thought of as a

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

Description

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

, New Zealand, Australia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Hong Kong, chambers may refer to the office premises used by a barrister or to a group of barristers, especially in the

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court: Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have s ...

. In these jurisdictions, barristers are forbidden from forming or becoming partners in

s (though they may be employed by them) and (except for those employed by a law firm or by a government agency) are theoretically all solo practitioners. However, to share costs and expenses, barristers typically operate fraternally with each other as

unincorporated association Unincorporated association refers to a group of people in common law jurisdictions—such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand—who organize around a shared purpose without forming a corporation or similar legal entity. Unlike in some ...

s known as "chambers". The term "chambers" is used to refer both to the physical premises where the barristers' set conduct most of their work from, as well as the 'set' or unincorporated association itself. Chambers typically have office spaces for the barristers to work from, conference rooms with infrastructure to conduct video conferencing for a large audience, printing and photocopying sections, a substantially large and updated

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

as well as rooms for the barristers' and clients' dining and entertainment. Most chambers have a staff to look after administrative matters, including a fully-fledged kitchen and dining hall to serve up meals and refreshments. The transactional side of chambers are administered by

barristers' clerk A barristers' clerk is a manager and administrator in a set of barristers' chambers. The term originated in England and is also used in some other common law jurisdictions, such as Australia. In Scotland, the equivalent role is advocate's clerk. T ...

s who receive cases from

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

s and agree on matters such as fees on behalf of their employers; they then provide case details to the barristers and conduct office management for them. Some chambers specialise in particular areas of law. Members are known as tenants and may be dismissed only for gross misconduct. There are chambers all over England and Wales; however, the largest concentration of them is in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. A report by the

General Council of the Bar The General Council of the Bar, commonly known as the Bar Council, is the representative body for barristers in England and Wales. Established in 1894, the Bar Council is the "approved regulator" of barristers, but delegates its regulatory functi ...

in 2006, showed that of the 355 practising chambers in the United Kingdom, 210 were based in London. In Hong Kong, the 133 chambers within the special administrative region are almost exclusively located in the City of Victoria. In Sri Lanka, counsels would maintain their chambers at their residence, which serve as their office and contain their personal library.

References

{{Law English legal terminology