Complaints Policy

  1. Our aim is to always give you a good service. However, if you have a complaint you are invited to let us know as soon as possible. It is not necessary to involve solicitors 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 twelve months of the act or omission complained of.
  3. We ask that you put your complaint in writing to us. Please address your letter or email of complaint to the clerks (clerks@10kbw.co.uk), who are the first point of contact at 10 KBW responsible for receiving complaints.
  4. We will, where possible, acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 5 days and provide you with details of how your complaint will be dealt with.
  5. Please give the following details:
    • Your name and address;
    • Any chambers reference number relating to your case;
    • Which member(s) of Chambers (or clerk) you are complaining about;
    • The detail of the complaint; and
    • What you would like done about it.
  6. Sometimes a complaint may arise from a simple misunderstanding or be capable of swift resolution. Accordingly, in most cases the complaint will be referred to the individual concerned and their comments sought. Those comments will be sent to the complainant to see whether the complaint can be resolved at this juncture. If that proves impossible the following paragraphs apply.
  7. Our Chambers has a panel made up of experienced members of Chambers, which will consider any unresolved written complaint against a barrister or clerk. Within 21 days of your written complaint being received the panel will appoint one of its members to investigate it. The person appointed will be someone other than the person about whom you are complaining.
  8. The person appointed to investigate will write to you as soon as possible to let you know they have been appointed and that he will reply to your complaint within 28 days of their appointment. If they finds later that they is not going to be able to reply within 28 days, they will set a new date for their reply and inform you. 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.

Confidentiality

  1. 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 or member of staff who you have complained about, the head or relevant senior member of the panel and the person who investigates the complaint. The Bar Standards Board is entitled to inspect the documents and seek information about the complaint when discharging its auditing and monitoring functions.

Our policy

  1. 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 from time to time may inspect an anonymised record with a view to improving services.

Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman

  1. If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation 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. Ordinarily, a complainant cannot use the Legal Ombudsman unless the complainant has first used our complaints procedure.
  2. Please note that the Legal Ombudsman has the following requirements in relation to time constraints for hearing your complaint:

From 1st April 2023, the time limits for referring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman will be not later than:

    • one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
    • one year from the date when the complainant should have realised that there was cause for complaint.
    • You are referring your complaint to them within six months of our final response.

You can write to the Legal Ombudsman at:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806,
Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ
Tel: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

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

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 Bar Standards Board. Therefore, Chambers will make an initial assessment of the complaint and if they feel that the issues raised cannot be satisfactorily resolved through the Chambers complaints process, they will refer you to the Bar Standards Board at:

Bar Standards Board
Professional Conduct Department
289-293 High Holborn
London WC1V 7HZ
Tel: 0207 6111 444
Website: barstandardsboard.org.uk

Notification of insurers

  1. Any complaint that involves negligence or a potential claim against professional indemnity insurance is brought to the attention of the insurers as soon as possible by the barrister.

Complaints policy effective June 2021.