The information provided in this section of our website is principally set out for the benefit of our consumers rather than legal professionals. The purpose of this section is to provide some more information about:

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• How we provide our services;

• How we charge for our barristers’ services; and

• How to raise a concern or complaint if you are not happy with the services provided.

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Areas of Practice

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Barristers at Chambers practise in the following general areas of law:

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• Court of protection

• Crime

• Employment and Professional Disciplinary

• Immigration

• Inquests

• Personal injury

• Public law and planning

• Regulatory

• General common law

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All of our barristers are members of the independent Bar of England and Wales, and are regulated by the Bar Standards Board. They are self-employed individuals who are not in partnership with each other so are permitted to act against each other on different sides of the same case. They practise in the areas of law listed above and appear in a wide range of courts and tribunals across England and Wales.

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Who can instruct us?

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The following groups are invited to contact Chambers:

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• Solicitors;

• Licensed Access clients, who may either hold a licence issued by the Bar Standards Board, or be a member of a professional body which has been recognised by the Bar Standards Board; and

• Members of the public who wish to instruct a barrister under the Public Access scheme.

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We will provide quotes for fees as soon as possible and will clearly set out the basis of the quotes. Please contact Chambers if there is something about our quote which you do not understand.

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Chambers and our barristers will provide quotes for fees based on the information provided to them, so it is important they are given a clear indication of the amount of work that might be required, any urgent timescales and the key aspects of your case.  

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Some fees may be agreed on the basis of being a fixed fee, however, the majority of non-legally-aided cases will be charged on an hourly-rate basis.

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A limited amount of cases our barristers receive will be accepted under the terms of a conditional fee agreement (CFA) – often referred to as ‘no-win, no-fee’. No barrister is obliged to accept cases on this basis and we advise that you first discuss a potential CFA case with Chambers.

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If you have any questions about whether you have legal insurance available to you to cover your costs and/or provide funding in relation to your legal costs then please read the guidance provided by Legal Choices.  

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Many cases we deal with in crime are funded by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). It is important to note barristers must be instructed by a solicitor with a legal aid contract in these cases, the Public Access scheme does not include legally-aid matters. A solicitor will advise as to eligibility for legal aid, however, this link will provide helpful information: www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid.

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Pro bono Work

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There are occasions when Chambers will undertake pro bono work. Pro bono work refers to cases that are accepted by some barristers for which they will carry out work without charging a fee. There is no obligation on any barrister to accept a case on this basis. If this is something which you would like to investigate for your case then this service is most usually provided through the ‘Advocate’ scheme. For more information on the please follow this link or telephone 020 7092 3960.

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The basis on which fees are calculated

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Barristers most often charge on the following basis for the following areas of work:

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• Court of protection: These cases are split between being legally aided and privately funded. The rates at which a barrister is paid for legally-aided work are set by the Legal Aid Agency. In privately-funded cases, some will be charged an agreed fixed fee, but most will be calculated the on basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.

• Crime: The majority of criminal cases are legally-aided and the fees are set by the Legal Aid Agency. Fees for those cases not attracting legal aid will charge at either a fixed rate or calculated on the basis of an hourly rate. 

• Employment and Professional Disciplinary: Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are most usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.

• Immigration: In the majority of cases, fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are most usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee. 

• Inquests: Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are most usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.

• Personal Injury: In the majority of cases, fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are most usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee. 

• Public law and planning: In the majority of cases, fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are most usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee. 

• Regulatory: Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are most usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.

• General common law: Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are most usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.

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All fees are charged exclusive of VAT.

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Factors that may increase fees in a case

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In all privately funded cases, whether accepted on the basis of a fixed fee or hourly rate there are factors that increase the amount of work involved and the fees charged.

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Some of the influencing factors include:

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• The seniority of barrister instructed on your case. More experienced barristers are likely to charge a higher level of fees than a more junior, less experienced barrister;

• The volume of papers involved and/or the complexity of the factual and legal issues involved;

• Urgency. Work required within short timescales which may require the barrister to prioritise a case over others, and to work out of normal working hours will usually incur higher levels of fees;

• Case significance. Cases of particularly high-profile in terms of consequence, impact and also those with media interest may require a high level of fees;

• The length of time the barrister is required at court; and

• The amount of travel time required for the barrister to attend court and any case conferences.

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Chambers will always discuss the likely level of fees required in each case. Should you be concerned about the level of fees that may be involved in your case please speak to Chambers at the earliest opportunity.

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We will always aim to inform you if a barrister is required to carry out more work on the case than originally estimated, and will then revise the fees accordingly. Please note that the most accurate fees can be quoted if full details are given to Chambers when you are first instructing one of our barristers.

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Timescales and Deadlines

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Timescales can vary significantly from case to case. They are affected by such things as the type and complexity of the matter, and also the availability of the barrister. We will always provide an estimate of timescales and it is important that Chambers are informed at the time of enquiry of any relevant time limits and deadlines.

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Regulation

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Our barristers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board.

 

Further information about all barristers, such as whether they have a current practising certificate or any disciplinary findings against them, can be found at the Bar Standards Board Barristers’ Register.

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We hope that our clients will always be happy with the service we provide, however, some cases do not always end with the outcome hoped for by the client.

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Complaints

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Should you have any concerns or complaints about the services provided by our barristers, or a member of our administration team, then you should please put your complaint in writing and provide the following details:

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• Your name and address;

• Which member(s) of Chambers you are complaining about;

• The detail of the complaint; and 

• What you would like done about it.

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Where possible, acknowledgement of your complaint will be made within seven days.

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Chambers will investigate your complaint fully and reply within forty-two days from the date of your original complaint. This is well within the eight week time frame stipulated by the Legal Ombudsman. 

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Once Chambers has completed the investigation the we will reply setting out:

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• The nature and scope of the investigation;

• The conclusion on each complaint and the basis for that conclusion; and

• If it is found that you are justified in your complaint, any proposals for resolving the complaint.

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All conversations and documents relating to your complaint will be treated as confidential and will be disclosed only to the extent necessary. 

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The Bar Standards Board is also entitled to inspect documents relating to complaints and to seek information about complaints when discharging its auditing and monitoring functions.

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As part of our commitment to client care we make a written record of all complaints, and retain all documents and correspondence generated by complaints for at least six years from the date of the act or omission complained of, and for at least three years from the date we received the complaint.

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If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation you may take up your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman, (the independent complaints body for complaints about lawyers) within six months of the final decision being issued by Chambers. The Legal Ombudsman is not able to consider your complaint until it has first been investigated by Chambers.

You can write to the Legal Ombudsman at:

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Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhamton
WV1 9WJ

Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

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If you are a non-client who raises a complaint, we will make an initial assessment of your complaint. If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation, you may wish to contact the Bar Standards Board:

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Bar Standards Board
Professional Conduct Department
289-293 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7JZ

Telephone: 020 7611 1444

Website: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

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