SOLICITORS will lose their monopoly of acting as middlemen between clients and barristers if a proposal to give other professionals the same right is adopted.
The Hong Kong Society of Accountants (HKSA) may become the first professional body to have direct access to barristers. It has been exploring the proposal with the Bar Association for some time.
HKSA executive director Louis Wong Lok-wah said members instructing barristers directly would be more efficient and would save money for clients.
''We know our clients' business best since we have been handling their accounts all along. Under the existing system, we have to brief the solicitors who will then brief the barristers based on what we tell them,'' Mr Wong said.
He said direct access to barristers should be given to professional bodies able to regulate members.
The idea of direct access for professionals other than solicitors was first raised in a Bar Council working paper on fusion.