How might barrister collect one short? (4,1,5)

I believe the answer is:

take a brief

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'how might' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot judge whether this works.

'barrister collect one short?' is the wordplay.
'barrister collect' becomes 'take' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'one' becomes 'a' (a thing is one thing).
'short?' becomes 'brief' ('brief' can be a synonym of 'short').
'take'+'a'+'brief'='TAKE A BRIEF'

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I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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