Chambers operates on a referral basis and most members of Chambers are only able to advise or act for a taxpayer once they have received instructions from a solicitor or other qualified professional.
Who Can Instruct?
Members act for a wide range of clients, from individual taxpayers to blue-chip multinational firms. Our work comes predominantly from domestic law firms, accountancy practices and in-house legal teams. Members of Chambers can also accept instructions from other professionals and professional firms in certain circumstances. The Clerks will be happy to advise as to the best way for a particular client to instruct any Member of Chambers.
The Clerks will be happy to assist solicitors, accountants and other clients by recommending the individual barrister or a team of barristers that would be best suited to deal with the particular piece of work.
Timescales for the provision of legal services may vary depending on factors such as barrister availability, the type and complexity of the case and (for hearings) court listing windows. If the matter is time critical, it is important you make us aware of any deadlines as soon as possible.
How To Communicate With Chambers?
Our Clerks can be contacted by email or telephone. The Clerks arrange appointments for conferences and consultations with Members of Chambers. Chambers is able to offer a number of well-equipped conference rooms to accommodate these meetings. The Clerks are happy to make arrangements for any disabled persons wishing to visit Chambers.
The Clerks maintain close working relationships with the administrative staff in the tax tribunals and the higher Courts, and frequently liaise with them regarding hearing dates for matters that are litigating.
Professional, licensed access, and/or lay clients may contact the barrister or clerking team to obtain a quotation for legal services.
Agreed Fees
The work undertaken by Members of Chambers ranges across the full spectrum of complexity and duration.
Fees for hearings are commonly charged on the basis of brief fees and refreshers, although fixed fees can be agreed in appropriate cases on request. Advice is commonly provided on a fixed fee basis. Work undertaken as part of a longer running instruction is commonly charged on the basis of fixed fees or hourly rates. Barristers in chambers also accept instructions under conditional fee agreements in certain circumstances.
Every matter is different and what you will need to pay will be dependant on a number of factors including complexity, the type of hearing, the volume of paperwork and the seniority and experience of the barrister being instructed. As a consequence, and in order to remain both flexible and competitive, the fee structure for each piece of work is agreed individually. In every case, quotations will clearly set out our fees so you can make an informed decision on how you want to proceed.
Client Care and Complaints Policy
All Members of Chambers are committed to providing an exceptionally high standard of service and welcome any feedback from both professional and lay clients. We apply ourselves seriously to complaints from clients and have appropriate internal procedures for addressing any concerns. Full details of our complaints procedure are available on request.
We hope that it will be possible to resolve any complaint raised with us. However, if we are unable to resolve your complaint then you can have the complaint independently looked at by the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman investigates complaints about poor service from lawyers. The Legal Ombudsman can investigate complaints up to six years from the date of the problem happening or within three years of when you found out about the problem. If you wish to refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman this must be done within six months of our final response to your complaint.
If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman their contact details are as follows:
Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ
Visit www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Email enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Call 0300 555 0333 between 8.30am to 5.30pm. Calls to 03 numbers will cost no more than calls to national geographic numbers (starting 01or 02) from both mobiles and landlines. Calls are recorded and may be used for training and monitoring purposes. For minicom call 0300 555 1777
The full list of who has a right to complain to the LeO and decision data is available on their website: http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/?faqs=who-can-use-our-service
The decision data on LeO’s website shows providers which received an ombudsman’s decision in the previous 12 months. In each case, the data shows whether LeO required the provider to give the consumer a remedy. The link to the decision data is on the LeO’s website.http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/raising-standards/data-and-decisions/#ombudsmandecision-data
The BSB’s Barristers’ Register shows (1) who has a current practising certificate, and (2) whether a barrister has any disciplinary findings, which are published on the Barristers’ Register. The link to the Barrister’s Register page is on the BSB’s website. https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/for-the-public/search-a-barristers-record/the-barristers-register.html
Public Access
It is now possible to seek expert legal advice and representation directly from barristers who have completed the Public Access Course without the need to instruct a solicitor or licensed intermediary. In suitable cases, public access can offer several benefits for members of the public, professionals and companies.
At 11 New Square, we have members qualified to accept public access work across all of our key practice areas. Please note that not all cases are suitable for public access and we will advise when it is in a clients best interest to involve and instructing agent. The Public Access guidance for lay clients is available on The Bar Standards Board Website.