Should a Barrister Record Their Time?

The Regulatory Position

The starting point is the Bar Council's paper Counsel's Fee Notes and Records (October 2024). It reminds practitioners that clients are entitled to know the basis on which fees are charged and that Rule C22 requires written confirmation of the charging basis when instructions are accepted.

More significantly, Rule C88 requires that adequate records supporting fees charged or claimed are kept and produced if reasonably required to verify the charge.

The Bar Council recognises there is no fixed form for an adequate record. In some cases, a record of time spent helps. In others, recording what was done may be sufficient: documents reviewed, issues considered, advice delivered, and length of written work. However framed, the obligation is the same: if a fee is challenged, it must be justifiable.

The Costs Context

The practical importance of records is most visible in detailed assessment. Courts repeatedly emphasise that claimed costs must be capable of proper scrutiny and justification.

Time records are not mandatory in every case, but where substantial sums are claimed their absence can become difficult. Where a brief fee exceeds hours multiplied by rate, the Bar Council advises a supplementary note explaining factors such as seniority, complexity, and diary commitment. That narrative is much easier to produce if records are made contemporaneously.

Public and Licensed Access

The position is firmer in public and licensed access cases. The Handbook imposes express obligations to keep notes of conferences and telephone advice. In those matters, disciplined record-keeping is required, not optional.

Good Practice and Risk Management

Careful recording serves four core purposes:

• Regulatory compliance with C22 and C88.
• Costs protection when fees are scrutinised.
• Client confidence through transparency.
• Risk management through contemporaneous evidence.

It does not need to be elaborate. A concise attendance note, a summary of issues researched, or a note of time reserved for hearing preparation may be enough. What matters is that the record can explain and defend the fee.

So, Should a Barrister Record Their Time?

In a modest fixed-fee advisory brief, detailed unitised time sheets may add little. But where costs may be assessed, fees are substantial, urgency or complexity justify uplift, or you act without a solicitor, the prudent answer is yes.

Time recording is not an end in itself. It is evidence. In a profession where fees may need to be justified to solicitors, clients, opponents, costs judges, and sometimes disciplinary bodies, good evidence is rarely wasted.

A disciplined, proportionate approach to recording work is not just administration. It is sound professional practice.