For many years now a number of leading sets in the commercial Bar have striven to throw off the old-fashioned, fusty image of barristers and establish their credentials as modern, forward-thinking providers of professional services.

In many ways it appears to have worked – at least with in-house lawyers, if not the public at large. A confidential snapshot poll by Legal Week‘s sister paper Legal Director of general counsel at ftse 100 and other large UK businesses found earlier this year that two-thirds of those polled had taken advantage of direct access regulations and instructed the Bar themselves.