Client Care

Quality policy

It is our policy efficiently to provide high quality legal services specialising in personal injury and environmental law on behalf of our clients. This policy will be achieved by:

• Sustaining practice standards consistent with a high level of service and the demands of the market,
• Retaining, developing and acquiring an appropriate level of professional skill,
• Developing our management structure,
• Marketing our services on a regional and national basis,
• Developing our staff and support structures, and
• Regularly reviewing our performance against our objectives.

We are committed to the Bar Council Code of Practice and to the operation of a management system that complies with the Quality Mark for the Bar.

Our key values are:

• Modern working methods focused on encouraging a team-based approach,
• An informal, approachable and down-to-earth style,
• Written service standards designed to meet clients' requirements,
• Modern fee arrangements intended to meet the needs of clients including conditional fee agreements,
• High professional standards based on specialist knowledge and effective advocacy, and
• Provision of the best possible service for our clients.

Receipt of Briefs and Instructions

Counsel will review briefs and instructions within 3 working days of receipt to ensure that there is no conflict of interest and that the work can be conducted within your required timescales. We will contact you immediately in the event of a problem for any reason.

Fees

We will inform you of the basis upon which fees will be charged at the outset of any case. Our fees are based upon a number of factors including your choice of counsel conducting your work, the type, complexity and duration of the case, and the amount of work that will be involved. Our senior clerk, Andrew Heap, will be pleased to discuss and agree fees charged by particular counsel and where required he will agree fees upon our receipt of your instructions or brief. In many cases, we will conduct work under a conditional fee agreement where this type of funding is appropriate. Standard fee rates will apply for certain types of cases or as agreed with specific clients according to those terms and conditions.

 

Payment of fees for cases conducted under a conditional fee agreement becomes due within three months of the case having been settled. In all other cases, payment of the fee becomes due on or before three calendar months from the date upon which the fee note for the work is submitted.

Appearance at Court and for Conference

We shall always endeavour to provide your counsel of choice and all efforts will be made to resolve conflicts between professional engagements. However, in those cases where conflicts are impossible to resolve, we shall advise you immediately and if possible within 5 day's notice if it appears your counsel of choice is unavailable, or a conflict of interests exists. We shall then discuss and agree with you alternative counsel who has the skills and experience that you require for your particular case.

Your chosen counsel will attend at Court to meet you at least 30 minutes prior to a hearing unless other arrangements have been made.

Conferences are normally held in Chambers but they can be held at other locations by arrangement where the client is unable to attend.

Paperwork

We will complete paperwork and return it to you within the timescale discussed and agreed with us by telephone or as marked on the instructions. Where you do not specify a date for its return, our standards are to return paperwork to you within 7 days for pleadings and 21 days for advices from the date of receipt by us. We should be grateful if you would telephone the clerks in advance to advise us of your requirements where work is required to be completed urgently. We will advise you as soon as possible if any delay in the agreed timescale is anticipated.

Communications

Counsel will inform instructing solicitors of all developments in cases and will contact them directly after a hearing if the instructing solicitor was not in attendance.

All messages to counsel are reported to the individual on the day they are received. Requests to telephone a professional client will be responded to by Chambers within 24 hours.

 

All members of Chambers can receive e-mail messages via their personal address or through the clerks at Chambers.

Equal Opportunities and Non-discrimination

We operate an equal opportunities and non-discrimination policy and we will not discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone in the acceptance of instructions and briefs and in the provision of our services. Counsel are recommended only on the basis of the skills, experience and abilities required for a particular case.

 

It is our policy for counsel to attend either at the premises of the professional or lay client as appropriate when conducting any work on behalf of a client who is unable to attend at Chambers.

Data Protection

All our members are registered under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Client Feedback and Problems

We particularly encourage any feedback, either complimentary or critical, about the way in which we as a Chambers, or a particular barrister, provide services. It is our policy to deal with problems and complaints in a responsive way rather than hope that a problem will go away. If a significant problem occurs and there is a complaint about any aspect of the service that is provided, with any member of these Chambers, or any member of staff, we should be pleased if you will contact the senior clerk or head of Chambers immediately.