Property Barristers are a rare yet useful commodity in today's world. Whilst the majority of those people who choose law as a profession enter this role with the hopes and dreams of defending the public against injustices within the highest courts of the land, the lot of the property barrister's work is unusual in that it very rarely ends up with a visit to a court or a tribunal.
The public often come into contact with property lawyers when they are buying or selling their home, or entering into an agreement for a lease of either commercial or domestic premises. The drafting of the documents necessary for these transactions is often carried out by paralegals except for the most complex of cases where solicitors or more qualified lawyers will become involved. In these cases the role of the property barrister will only be seen where a problem arises such as a boundary dispute, the interpretation of a restrictive covenant or giving an opinion upon whether the acts of a neighbor constitute a nuisance.
Fortunately these cases are rare but for those who lawyers who practice in this area the rewards are high.Before embarking upon litigation a property barrister will give a detailed opinion upon the merits of the case taking into account the evidence which has been supplied .There will often be a need for a site inspection to see at first hand the nature of the problem, as paperwork alone including the title deeds to the property often do not disclose fully the nature or severity of the issue. In the event that the case does have merits it is incumbent upon the barrister to outline the risks in litigating the case as this may have a detrimental effect upon the sale of the property at a later date.
Additionally there are costs to discuss in the event that the case is lost in court.
Proportionality should also be considered – is there any point in spending thousands of pounds on legal fees when all that is at issue is a strip of land which measures no more than 10 inches by 30 feet? Principles can be a very costly commodity. Alternative methods of settlement of the case should be explored by the barrister such as mediation and /or arbitration which may be a more expeditious and cheaper solution to the problem.The role of a property barrister is multi-faceted as can be seen from the example above and is an interesting and mentally stimulating role, calling upon the barrister to demonstrate high level technical skills in a complex area of law linked to the ability to use tact and diplomacy in what can become a battle of wills between 2 neighbors.