Complaints Procedure

Introduction

1. Martin Burr Chambers at all times aims to provide an exceptionally good service to all clients. However, in the event that you do have a complaint against a Member of Chambers you are kindly invited to inform us as soon as is possible.

Professional Duty to inform

2. Any Members of Chambers instructed to act in your case has a professional duty to inform you as soon as is reasonably practicable of the Complaints Procedure of Chambers and direct you to or provide you with a copy of this written Complaints Procedure whether directly or via a solicitor if you have instructed one.

3. All solicitors who instruct Members of Chambers have been informed of this Complaints Procedure and are also encouraged to advise you of the same and are expected by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (the organisation/body which regulates solicitors in England and Wales) to facilitate this process or to ensure that you have been appropriately signposted in relation to this aspect.

First Stage – Informal Complaints Procedure of Chambers


4. In line with our Complaints Procedure you are invited to informally raise the complaint directly with the Member of Chambers concerned via telephone on +44(0)20 7666 3040. Please leave your contact number and the Member of Chambers concerned will, save in exceptional circumstances, contact you back on the number provided by you within seven days and make all reasonable attempts to resolve the complaint raised.

5. If however you are not satisfied with the outcome as set out at Paragraph 4 above, or for whatever reason feel uncomfortable in raising the complaint directly with the Member of Chambers concerned, then you are invited to informally raise the complaint about the Member of Chambers concerned with the Head of Chambers via telephone on +44(0)20 7666 3040. Please leave your contact number and the Head of Chambers will, save in exceptional circumstances, contact you back on the number provided by you within seven days and make all reasonable attempts to resolve the complaint raised.

6. If your complaint against the Member of Chambers is the Head of Chambers then the reference to Head of Chambers at Paragraph 5 above is to be read as the Person Appointed by the Management Committee.

Second Stage – Formal Complaints Procedure of Chambers


7. If however you are not satisfied with the outcome as set out at Paragraph 5 above then you are invited to within 14 days of the informal response of the Head of Chambers to formally raise the complaint in writing about the Member of Chambers concerned with the Head of Chambers.

8. The written complaint must be sent to the following address:
Head of Chambers
Martin Burr Chambers
85 Gresham Street
London
EC2V 7NQ.

9. You must clearly set out in writing:
(i) your full name
(ii) your full contact address
(iii) your contact telephone number
(iv) name of the Member of Chambers you wish to raise a complaint against
(v) full details of the complaint and
(vi) your suggestion(s)/proposal(s) to amicably resolve the complaint and bring the matter to an end.

10. The Head of Chambers within 14 days of receiving your written complaint will write to you at the contact address provided to acknowledge receipt of your complaint and the next steps in the matter.

11. The Head of Chambers will, as soon as is reasonably practicable and in any event no later than 56 days from acknowledgement of receipt of your complaint, save in exceptional circumstances in which case you will be informed in writing of a reasonable timeframe, reply to you in writing informing you of the nature and scope of the investigation undertaken and conclusion(s) and recommendation(s) reached on the complaint raised.

12. All investigations undertaken and documents will be kept confidential at all times by Chambers and only disclosed to the relevant persons as far as is reasonably necessary to do so.

13. A written record will be kept by Chambers of the formal written complaint received from you, any documents received and our response for a period of six years.

14. It is against Chambers’ policy for you to be victimised in any way whatsoever for raising a complaint against a Member of Chambers.

15. If your complaint against the Member of Chambers is the Head of Chambers then the reference to Head of Chambers at Paragraphs 7, 8, 10 and 11 above is to be read as the Person Appointed by the Management Committee.

Third Stage – Complaints Procedure of the Legal Ombudsman


16. If however you are not satisfied with the outcome as set out at Paragraph 11 above then you can make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman (an independent and impartial organisation/body which receives and deals with complaints about legal services provided by members of the legal profession in England and Wales including barristers) within six years from the act/omission complained of or three years from when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint.

17. The Legal Ombudsman can be contacted via the following details:
By Phone – +44(0)300 555 0333
By Email – enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
By Website – https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH.

18. You cannot ordinarily make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman without first having used and exhausted both the Informal Complaints Procedure of Chambers and the Formal Complaints Procedure of Chambers.

Fourth Stage – Complaints Procedure of the Bar Standards Board


19. If the Member of Chambers you wish to complain about is not acting for you and you wish to complain about their behaviour/professional misconduct then you can make a complaint to the Bar Standards Board (the organisation/body which regulates barristers in England and Wales) within 12 months of the problem arising or you finding out about it.

20. The Bar Standards Board can be contacted via the following details:
By Phone – +44(0)20 7611 1444
By Email – contactus@barstandardsboard.org.uk
By Website – https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk
Bar Standards Board
289 - 293 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7HZ.