Background

Client Care

“They always provide a first-class service”

Chambers UK

Chambers is fully committed to delivering the highest quality of service at all levels. We look to build excellent client relationships and to provide straightforward and transparent case management when dealing with instructions for hearings, paperwork and subsequent billing.

Clients regularly commend our barristers for not only being talented lawyers but also for being accessible and prepared to go the extra mile. They also appreciate the “invaluable, frank and open conversations” (Chambers UK) they are able to have with our clerking team who are described as “exemplary” and “outstanding” (Legal 500). Our receptionist was one of a few singled out for client service in research conducted by The Legal 500 for being “always friendly and efficient”.

If you have any particular requirements, never hesitate to contact us to discuss the best way we can assist in meeting your needs.

Feedback

We always welcome and actively encourage feedback on the quality of our service as well as every aspect of our clients’ experience of working with us.

We conduct frequent service reviews with our clients as well as obtain more informal feedback on an ongoing basis. Our Management Committee regularly reviews client feedback and is constantly looking at ways to improve our business processes, so as to ensure we are providing the best possible service and experience for our clients.

If you have any feedback or specific issues you wish to raise, contact our Senior Clerk, Mark Waller.

Fee Transparency

Barristers in chambers practise in police law, inquests, employment, public law, public inquiries, personal injury, human rights, regulatory and information law. Our barristers advise and represent clients bringing and defending claims in all of these areas of law. Our barristers also provide advice in these areas of law on non-contentious matters. Our barristers act for clients in each court or tribunal within the jurisdiction of England and Wales in which these specialist areas of law are litigated.

Contact Us

The following are invited to contact the clerks on 020 7410 2000 or clerks@5essexcourt.co.uk for a quote for our barristers’ services

  • Solicitors or other practising lawyers;
  • Licensed Access clients, who may either hold a licence issued by the Bar Standards Board, or be a member of a professional body which has been recognised by the Bar Standards Board; and
  • Members of the public who wish to instruct a barrister under the Public Access scheme.

We will provide you with a quote as soon as possible. We always aim to set out quotes clearly, but if you receive your quote and there is something you do not understand, please contact us.

Fees

Barristers in chambers charge a combination of brief frees and hourly rates.

Brief fee and refresher

A brief fee is a fixed fee which covers preparation for a trial and the first day. A refresher is a fixed fee for each subsequent day of the trial (which includes ongoing preparation).

Capped fee

A legal services provider will charge an amount of money per hour (an hourly rate), but agree with the client that the total amount will not be more than a set level.

Conditional fee agreement

A client will only pay a legal services provider for work if they receive compensation as a result of the proceedings. Conditional fee agreements are popular with consumers and often referred to as “no win, no fee” agreements.

Fixed fee

A legal services provider will charge a client a set amount of money for work. Consumers often prefer fixed fees, as they remove the anxiety of not knowing how long the work might take and therefore the cost. However, by charging on a fixed fee basis the provider will be taking on the risk that the work may take longer than expected, and so may charge more to compensate for this. There may also be circumstances where additional fees are charged, and it is important for the provider to be clear about this.

Hourly rate

The amount of money that a legal services provider charges a client per hour. The setting of hourly rates is not necessarily straightforward and a number of factors may determine the rate that the provider chooses to set; for example, seniority, type of client and whether the provider is trying to build business in a new area.

Volume purchase discount

A client will pay a legal services provider for work in bulk and so receive a discount.

For information, please contact the clerks on 020 7410 2000 or clerks@5essexcourt.co.uk

Timescales

Timescales for a case may vary depending on factors such as barristers’ availability, the type and complexity of the case, the other side’s approach and court waiting times.

Public Access

If you are a member of the public, the Bar Standards Board’s Public Access Guidance for Lay Clients can be found here. This will help you to understand how the Public Access scheme works, and explains how you can use it to instruct barristers directly.

Regulatory and Complaints Information

Barristers in chambers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board. You can search the Barristers’ Register on the Bar Standards Board website here.

This shows (1) whether a barrister has a current practising certificate, and (2) whether a barrister has any disciplinary findings, which are published on the Bar Standards Board’s website in accordance with their policy. Alternatively, you can contact the Bar Standards Board on 020 7611 1444 to ask about this (or e-mail ContactUs@BarStandardsBoard.org.uk).

Our website provides information on about:

  • Our complaints procedure;
  • Any right you may have to complain to the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) – the independent body which can help you if you have complained to your lawyer and are not happy with their response;
  • How to complain to the LeO; and
  • Any time limits for making a complaint.

You can also search the decision data on the LeO’s website here.

This shows providers which received an ombudsman’s decision in the previous calendar year, and whether the LeO required the provider to give the consumer a remedy. Alternatively, you can contact the LeO on 0300 555 0333 to ask about this (or e-mail enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk).

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