Litigation and Advocacy 

Rachel's accepts briefs to appear in the Family Court, Magistrates Court and Children's Court. 

Ideally, counsel will be briefed at the very start of a matter so that clients have the benefit of counsel opinion and strategic planning from a litigator.  It is not uncommon for parties to ask that their solicitor manage interim court appearances and only brief counsel if the matter progresses to final hearing (trial).

Briefing counsel does not make litigation inevitable; often counsel can assist parties to avoid litigation.

A brief to counsel usually begins with an informal telephone discussion between counsel and instructing solicitor.  From there, a brief is provided to counsel.  The brief comprises an overview of the matter from the solicitor and key documents which the barrister should be familiar with prior to the first meeting with instructor and client.

Increasingly, briefs are being provided in electronic format.  Rachel is happy to receive an electronic brief and can work with a number of electronic briefing platforms.  Rachel's electronic briefing policy is available to view and print from the Electronic Briefing Policy page.  Please note:  the electronic briefing policy is intended as a guide; not as a fixed set of instructions.