Complaints Procedure

Our aim is to give you a good service at all times.  However if you have a complaint, you are invited to let us know as soon as possible and we will do our best to try to resolve it.  It is not necessary to involve solicitors in order to make your complaint but you are free to do so should you wish.

Please note that the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for service complaints about lawyers (including barristers), has a 12-month time limit from the date of the act or omission about which you are complaining within which to make your complaint.  Chambers will therefore have regard to that timeframe when deciding whether we are able to investigate your complaint.  We are not obliged to deal with complaints that fall outside the 12-month time limit.

Complaints made by Telephone

You may wish to make a complaint in writing and, if so, please follow the procedure in paragraphs 5 and 6 below.  However, if you would rather speak on the telephone about your complaint, then please telephone either the barrister concerned or the senior clerk, Lizzy Stewart, who has been nominated by Chambers to handle / manage the resolution of complaints.  If the complaint is about the senior clerk, please telephone the Head of Chambers, Sue Carr QC.  The person you contact will make a note of the details of your complaint and what you would like done about it.  S/he will discuss your concerns with you and aim to resolve them.  If the matter is resolved, s/he will record the outcome, check that you are satisfied with the outcome and record that you are satisfied.  You may also wish to record the outcome of the telephone discussion in writing.

If your complaint is not resolved on the telephone, you will be invited to write to us about it within the next 14 days so that it can be investigated formally.

Complaints made in Writing

Please give the following details:

• Your name and address;
• Which member(s) of Chambers or staff you are complaining about;
• The detail of your complaint; and
• What you would like done about it. 

Please address your letter to the recipient (either the barrister concerned, our Senior Clerk or our Head of Chambers) at 4 New Square, Lincoln’s Inn, London WC2A 3RJ.

Our Chambers has a panel, which is led by the Head of Chambers and made up of experienced members of Chambers and the Senior Clerk.  The panel will consider your written complaint.  Within 14 days of your letter being received the head of the panel or his deputy will appoint a member of the panel to investigate it.  If your complaint is about the Head of Chambers the deputy head of the panel will appoint a member or members of the panel to deal with it. In any case, the person appointed will be someone other than the person you are complaining about.

The person appointed to investigate will write to you as soon as possible to let you know s/he has been appointed and that s/he will reply to your complaint within 14 days.  If s/he finds later that s/he is not going to be able to reply within 14 days, s/he will set a new date for her/his reply and inform you.  The reply will set out:

• The nature and scope of the investigation;
• The conclusion on each complaint and the basis for that conclusion; and 
• If s/he finds that you are justified in your complaint, her/his proposals for resolving the complaint.

Confidentiality

All conversations and documents relating to the complaint will be treated as confidential and will be disclosed only to the extent that is necessary.  Disclosure will necessarily be made to the Head of Chambers, members of our management committee and to anyone involved in the complaint and its investigation.  Such people will include the barrister or employee about whom you have complained, the Head of Chambers or relevant senior member of the panel and the person who investigates the complaint.  Additionally, the Bar Standards Board is entitled to inspect the documents and seek information about the complaint when discharging its auditing and monitoring functions.

Our Policy

As part of our commitment to client care we make a written record of any complaint.  The executive committee with the Head of Chambers periodically reviews the record of complaints with a view to making any necessary changes to improve the service we give.  You may be asked at the completion of the complaints procedure to complete a questionnaire which assists us in assessing our procedures.

Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman

We hope that you will use and be satisfied by our procedure.  However, if you are unhappy with the outcome, you have the choice of taking up your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman.  The Ombudsman is not able to consider your complaint until it has first been investigated by Chambers.  You can contact the Ombudsman at:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 15870
Birmingham
B30 9EB

Tel: 0300 555 0333
enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
www.legalombudsman.org.uk