We sincerely hope, of course, that there will never be any cause to complain. However…

Normally, any complaint should be raised by the solicitor, on the lay client's behalf. It may sometimes happen, though, that the lay client might have to raise a complaint directly with us. For example, the relationship between the lay client and his/her solicitor may have broken down; or the complaint may relate both to the solicitor and the barrister.

Complaints should be addressed to our Senior Clerk. Where the complaint is relatively minor, the Solicitor can contact the Senior Clerk by telephone, and the matter can often be resolved that way. A record of the complaint will nevertheless be kept by us. In more serious matters the complaint should be put into writing and sent to the Senior Clerk at the address given at the top of the Home Page.

If complaints of this sort can be dealt with by the Senior Clerk, he will do his best to resolve the matter himself. If he considers the complaint is not appropriate for him to deal with, or if from the outset the complaint is clearly serious in nature, it will be referred to the Head of Chambers.

If the matter is dealt with by the Head of Chambers he may ask the complainant for further details. He will then enquire into the complaint and decide what to do about it. This enquiry will include finding out what the person complained of says about the complaint. It may also involve inviting the complainant to come to Chambers to tell us about the complaint in person. If that happens, other senior members of Chambers will assist the Head of Chambers to come to a decision. If the complaint is found to be well founded, the Head of Chambers will then indicate what steps are proposed to make good the complaint.

Clients also have the right to complain to the controlling professional body, The General Council of the Bar of England & Wales (Professional Conduct and Complaints Committee) whose address is 289-293 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7HZ.