In-house counsel are increasingly instructing barristers directly, but, despite some major cost benefits, it's an approach that doesn't work for everyone. Alex Aldridge reports

When Orange and T-Mobile announced in July that they would review their line-up of legal advisers in the wake of their merger to become Everything Everywhere, the newly-formed company's general counsel James Blendis (formerly head of legal at T-Mobile) was keen to stress that the new panel would include barristers chambers as well as law firms. Blendis (pictured) told Legal Week at the time: "We have had success instructing directly to the Bar in the past and would be keen to continue working in this way with the larger group of internal lawyers."

Blendis is not alone in this respect, with various local authorities appointing barristers' chambers to their 'super panels' over the last 18 months and Barclays' in-house litigation team taking steps earlier this year to formalise its existing relationships with chambers including Fountain Court and 3 Verulam Buildings. Indeed, a recent survey by research company Winmark concluded that 48% of general counsel are increasingly bypassing law firms to go directly to the Bar.

Value

There is no doubt that barristers, particularly at the more junior end of the profession, are good value when compared directly to solicitors. You'll pay £200 for an hour of the time of a fairly junior City law firm associate whose work is likely to have to be checked by a supervising senior colleague – adding another layer of expense to the process. For around the same money in-house lawyers can instruct a commercial barrister at a top chambers in the five-plus years' call bracket, who is used to working independently.

"Headline rates for even junior solicitors at the major City firms can be extortionate now," argues Ben Lambert, general counsel of Veolia Environmental Services. "On ad hoc, non-transactional matters you can get far more for your money with a reasonably experienced barrister."

Not only are barristers cheaper, there is also a feeling among in-house counsel that those at the top chambers are, generally speaking, brighter and better technical lawyers than their solicitor counterparts.

"Dare I say it as a solicitor myself, but barristers tend to be a bit more intelligent than us – the ones at the top sets are the cr