Complaints

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 solicitors in order to make your complaint, but you are free to do so should you wish. No charge is made by us for investigating your complaint.

2. However Chambers may not be best placed to seek to resolve or provide redress for complaints which relate to misconduct or professional negligence. You will be informed in writing if any aspects of your complaint are deemed to be outside of chambers complaints handling procedures [also see paragraph 7 below]. This will include information on how to complain to the Legal Ombudsman.

3. Please be assured that any complaints made will be taken seriously and handled with care and will not disadvantage your case or matter. We will investigate and handle complaints in a fair and consistent manner, diligently and impartially, and seek to respond and resolve your complaint at the earliest opportunity.

4. Please note that the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for service complaints about lawyers, has time limits in which a complaint must be raised with them. From 1 April 2023, the time limits are:

a) The complainant must refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman no later than one year from the act/omission, or one year from when the complainant should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

b) The complainant must also refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of the complaint receiving a final response from their lawyer, if that response complies with the requirements in rule 4.4 of the Scheme Rules (which requires the response to include prominently an explanation that the Legal Ombudsman was available if the complainant remained dissatisfied, and the provision of full contact details for the Ombudsman and a warning that the complaint must be referred to them within six months).

5. Chambers must have regard to that timeframe when deciding whether they are able to investigate your complaint. Chambers will not therefore usually deal with complaints that fall outside of the Legal Ombudsman’s time limits. The Ombudsman can extend the time limit in exceptional circumstances.

6. The Ombudsman will also only deal with complaints from consumers. This means that only complaints from the barrister’s client are within their jurisdiction. Non-clients who do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman who are not satisfied with the outcome of the Chambers’ investigation should contact the Bar Standards Board [BSB] rather than the Legal Ombudsman.

7. It should be noted that it may not always be possible to investigate a complaint brought by a non-client. This is because the ability of chambers to satisfactorily investigate and resolve such matters is limited and complaints of this nature are often better suited to the disciplinary processes maintained by the BSB. Therefore, chambers will make an initial assessment of the complaint and if we feel that the issues raised cannot be satisfactorily resolved through the chambers complaints process we will refer you to the BSB.

8. Chambers will notify clients, in writing or in formats tailored to their specific information needs, of their right to make a complaint, of this complaints handling procedure, of how and to whom they can complain, and of any time limits for making a complaint. Clients will also be notified that, if a first-tier complaint has not been resolved to their satisfaction after eight weeks following the making of the complaint, they may have a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman.

This information will be provided:

– when we are instructed, or, if that is not practicable, at the next earliest appropriate opportunity;
– at the conclusion of the matter;
– upon request; and
– if a complaint is made during a matter.

9. Where work is accepted by referral through a professional client (for example, a solicitor), this information will ordinarily be provided in our terms of engagement or equivalent letter. Where no letter of engagement is sent to a lay client, a specific letter or communication (in a format tailored to the client’s information needs) will be sent to provide this information.

10. Where work has been accepted on a referral basis, the lay client may make a complaint directly to the barrister concerned or to chambers without going through their solicitor or other professional client. Where public access or licensed access work is undertaken through an intermediary, the intermediary will be informed of this complaints procedure in the same way

Complaints made by telephone/video call/other formats

11. You may wish to make a complaint in writing and, if so, please follow the procedure in paragraph 10 below. If you would like to make your complaint in other ways or formats, or accessible options, please do not hesitate to contact us so that we can best accommodate your needs.

12. However, if you would rather speak initially on the telephone, video call, or other format that suits your preference and information needs, about your complaint, then please engage the individual nominated under the chambers complaints procedure to deal with complaints [the Senior Clerk, Mr Michael Lieberman] or, if the complaint is about the Senior Clerk, the Head of Chambers [Mr David Elias KC]. You can contact them, via Chambers, to arrange a time for an initial meeting by phone / video.

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

13. If your complaint is not resolved at this stage, you will be invited to write to us about it, so it can be investigated formally. At this stage, we will also check if you would like to engage with us on accessible formats, to meet your specific information and communication needs. We will discuss and agree with you the best way and format for us to engage and communicate together. We will advise you on the best way to set out your concerns and complaint for the next formal investigation stage, depending on your needs and preferences.

Complaints Made in Writing and in other Accessible Formats

14. For complaints made in writing, 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/correspondence to Mr Michael Lieberman, Senior Clerk to Chambers, at the address above or by email to him at mlieberman@9parkplace.co.uk. We will, where possible, acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two working days [our working days are Monday – Friday excepting Bank Holidays] and provide you with details of how your complaint will be dealt with, including:

– the name and contact details of the person appointed to deal with your complaint, and a description of that person’s role in chambers;
– clear and comprehensive information about this complaints procedure and how your complaint will be handled, including the information referred to in paragraphs 8 and 9 above; and
– the date by which you will next hear from chambers, including the anticipated timeline for resolution of the complaint. We will receive regular updates on the progress of your complaint throughout.

15. For complaints made in other accessible formats, we will discuss and advise you on the best way to set out your concerns, tailored to your needs, and how to provide the information above in paragraph 10.

16. Our chambers has a panel headed by Mr David Elias KC and made up of experienced members of chambers and a senior member of staff, which considers any written and formal complaint. Within 14 days of your letter/formal complaint being received the head of the panel (or their deputy in their 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 the person you are complaining about.

17. The person appointed to investigate will write to you as soon as possible to let you know they have been appointed and that they will reply to your complaint within 21 days. If they find later that they are not going to be able to reply within 21 days they will set a new date for their reply and inform you. In any event, we will keep you informed and provide regular updates on progress of the complaint investigation.

Their reply will set out:

• The nature and scope of their investigation;
• Their conclusion on each complaint and the basis for their conclusion; and
• If they find that you are justified in your complaint, their proposals for resolving the complaint.

18. 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 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 BSB is entitled to inspect the documents and seek information about the complaint when discharging its monitoring functions.

Policy

19. 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 from resolution of the complaint. Complaints data will be held in anonymised form in order for us to review and improve our services, and to comply with requests form disclosures from the BSB in the exercise of its monitoring and auditing remit.

From time to time, a summary of the complaint will be provided to the Bar Standards Board, on an anonymous basis, which will only provide information about what the complaint was about, and the outcomes.

Complaints & Record Keeping

20. Members of chambers are required to ensure that details of any complaints they receive and deal with relating to their work at chambers, including steps taken to respond to it and the outcome, are provided to the Senior Clerk so that they can be recorded centrally and handled in accordance with this procedure. A summary of complaints received will be sent to the BSB from time to time in line with our mandatory complaints reporting obligations.

21. The person responsible for the administration of this procedure the Senior Clerk will report at least annually to the management committee of chambers on the number of complaints received, the subject areas of those complaints, and their outcomes. That report will include a review of complaints for trends, risks or issues, including any possible systemic issues in how complaints have been assessed and resolved and any service issues. Measures will be implemented to address any risks and issues identified. Appropriate training will be considered and, where necessary, undertaken, and appropriate resources provided, to address the identified risks and issues.

22. If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation, and you fall within their jurisdiction, you may take up your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for complaints about lawyers, at the conclusion of our consideration of your complaint.

The Ombudsman is not able to consider your complaint until it has first been investigated by chambers, or if the complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction within 8 weeks of making your complaint. Please note the timeframe for referral of complaints to the Ombudsman as set out at paragraph 2 above. Those clients who are able to complain to the Legal Ombudsman are as follows:

a) Individuals;
b) Businesses or enterprises that are micro-enterprises within the meaning of Article 1 and Article 2(1) and (3) of the Annex to Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC (broadly businesses or enterprises with fewer than 10 employees and turnover or assets not exceeding €2 million);
c) Charities with an annual income net of tax of less than £1 million;
d) Clubs, associations or organisations, the affairs of which are managed by its members or a committee of its members, with an annual income net of tax of less than £1 million;
e) Trustees of trusts with an asset value of less than £1 million; and
f) Personal representatives or beneficiaries of the estates of persons who, before they died, had not referred the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman.

You can write to the Legal Ombudsman at:

Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167 Slough SL1 0EH

Telephone number: 0300 555 0333 [10am – 4pm Monday – Friday]

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

More information about the Legal Ombudsman is available at: legalombudsman.org.uk

23. If you are unhappy with the outcome of the investigation, alternative complaints bodies as approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (https://www.tradingstandards.uk/consumer-help/adr-approved-bodies/) also exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services, should you and the barrister both wish to use such a scheme.

If you wish to use your chosen ADR provider, please contact us to discuss this, including time limits for contacting your chosen ADR. Please also note that if mediation is used, neither you nor the barrister is required to accept the proposed resolution.

If mediation does not resolve the complaint, you may still make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman (provided you fall within their jurisdiction and you do so within the time limit).

If you are not the barrister’s client and are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation then please contact the Bar Standards Board at:

Bar Standards Board

Professional Conduct Department

London WC1V 7JZ

Telephone number: 0207 6111 444

barstandardsboard.org.uk