Complaints Procedure

Complaints Procedure

1.     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.  It is not necessary to involve your solicitors in order to make your complaint but you are free to do so should you wish.

2.     Please note that Chambers will only consider complaints that are raised within six months of the act or omission complained of.

 

Complaints made by Telephone

3.     You may wish to make a complaint in writing and, if so, please follow the procedure in paragraph 6 and 7 below.  However, if you would rather speak on the telephone about your complaint then please telephone the individual nominated under the Chambers Complaints Procedure to deal with complaints, the Senior Clerk, Andrew Newey.  If the complaint is about the Senior Clerk, please telephone the Head of Chambers, Richard Christie QC (or other member of Chambers appointed by the Head). 

4.     The person you contact will make a note of the details of your complaint and what you would like done about it.   He will discuss your concerns with you and aim to resolve them.  If the matter is resolved 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.

5.     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 it can be investigated formally.

 

Complaints made in writing

6.     Please give the following details:

  • 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.

 

Please address your letter to The Complaints Co-ordinator at the address above.  We will, wherever possible acknowledge receipt of your complaint within one week and provide you with details of how your complaint will be dealt with.

 

 

7.     Our Chambers has a panel headed by our Deputy Head of Chambers and made up of experienced members of Chambers and a senior member of staff, which considers any written complaint.  Within 21 days of your letter being received the head of the panel (or his deputy in his absence) will appoint a member of the panel to investigate it.  If your complaint is against the head of the panel, the next most senior member of the panel will investigate it.  In any case, the person appointed will be someone other than person you are complaining about.

 

8.     The person appointed to investigate will write to you as soon as possible to let you know he has been appointed and that he will reply to your complaint within 21 days If he finds that he is not going to be able to reply within 21 days he will set a new date for his reply and inform you.  His reply will set out:

 

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

 

 

Confidentiality

 

9.     All conversations and documents relation to the complaint will be treated as confidential and will be disclosed only to the extent that is necessary.  Disclosure will be 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 member or staff who you have complained about, the head or relevant senior member of the panel and the person who investigates the complaint.  The Legal Ombudsman is entitled to inspect the documents and seek information about the complaint when discharging its auditing and monitoring functions.

 

Onward Referral

 

10.  Where a complaint appears to us to raise a genuine issue of professional negligence, such as could lead to legal action by the complainant against a barrister, we are obliged to refer the matter to our insurers, the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund, and thereafter follow their directions as to further investigation.

 

11.  Where a complaint appears to us to raise a genuine issue of serious professional misconduct, such as might lead to disciplinary proceedings against a barrister, we may decide that we have to refer the complaint to the Bar Standards Board for them to investigate.

 

 

Our Policy

 

12.  As part of our commitment to client care we make a written record of any complaint and retain all documents and correspondence generated by the complaint for a period of six years.  Our management committee inspects an anonymised record regularly with a view to improving services.

 

 

Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman (the regulatory arm of the Bar Council, the professional body for barristers)

 

13.  We hope that you will use our procedure.  However, if you would rather not do so or are unhappy with the outcome you may take up your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman at any time.  Please note that there are two relevant time limits: the '12 month rule' and the '6 month rule'. Generally speaking, your complaint should be brought to us no later than 12 months from when the problem occurred or from when you should reasonably have become aware of the problem. Suppose the problem occurred, or you became aware of the problem, at the end of September 2010. You should bring your complaint to us before the end of September 2011.

Plus, you should come to us within 6 months of receiving a final response from your lawyer after complaining to them. Suppose you complained to your lawyer about the problem at the end of November 2010 and they responded with a final offer to sort things out at the end of January this year. You're still not happy with what they offered. You would have until the end of July this year (2011) to bring your complaint to us.

Both of these time limit rules should normally be satisfied for us to accept your complaint.

You can write to them at:
Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 15870, Tamworth B77 9LE
Tel:       0300 555 0333
Email:   enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk