Complaints

• Brick Court Chambers prides itself on the excellence of its service. If at any time you have any concerns about the quality of the services of our barristers or members of staff you are invited to let us know as soon as possible.
• In line with our friendly and open approach, in the first instance we would always encourage you to discuss any day-to-day concerns about the services of our barristers directly with them. Any such concerns can also always be raised with our clerking team, and, in particular, with Paul Dennison or Tony Burgess, our Senior Clerks.
• Any concerns about members of staff should be raised with Paul Dennison or Tony Burgess. If the complaint is about either of the senior clerks please discuss the matter with the Head(s) of Chambers.
• We would very much hope that the matter can be resolved at this point, and that you will be satisfied with the outcome.
• However, if you feel that the concern or matter you have raised has not been dealt with to your satisfaction, then you may wish to make a formal complaint. We set out the steps in our formal complaints procedure below.

Formal complaints procedure

• Please address your formal letter of complaint to Mark Howard KC or Helen Davies KC, Brick Court Chambers, 7-8 Essex Street, London, WC2R 3LD. Please give the following details: your name and address, which member(s) of Chambers (or staff) you are complaining about; the detail of the complaint, and what you would like done about it.
• Within 21 days of your letter being received the Head(s) of Chambers, or their deputy in their absence, will investigate the complaint themselves in conjunction with the practice manager and the senior clerk. If your complaint is against the Head(s) of Chambers it will be investigated by the next most senior member of our Chambers’ Executive Committee in conjunction with one of the senior clerks. In any case, the person(s) investigating the complaint will be other than the person you are complaining about.
• The person handling the investigation will write to you as soon as possible to let you know they have been appointed and that they will reply to your complaint within 21 days. If they find later that they are not going to be able to reply within 21 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.

Complaints regarding Mediators

• If you wish to raise a concern regarding a Mediator in Chambers, the same steps should be followed as set out above.
• Should our response be unacceptable, you may, for any Mediator registered with the Civil Mediation Council, appeal to them on certain grounds. The details of the CMC's appeal processes can be found here: https://civilmediation.org/for-thepublic/complaints

Confidentiality

• 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(s) of Chambers, our senior clerk(s), and our Director of Finance and Administration and will include anyone else we consider necessary to involve in the complaint and its investigation. Such people will include the barrister member or staff member about whom you have complained. If such a complaint is made, we will assume that you are authorising those investigating the complaint to view all the papers or other correspondence relevant to the matter.

Record-keeping

• As part of our commitment to client care we will make a written record of any formal complaint.

Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman

• Clients can complain to Legal Ombudsman if they are unhappy with the final response to their complaint, or if their complaint has not been dealt with in eight weeks.
• Clients who have a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman are individuals and, broadly speaking, small businesses and charities. The full list of who has a right to complain to Legal Ombudsman is available on their website:  https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/media/oughytel/scheme-rules-april-23-final.pdf#page=7.
• You can write to the Legal Ombudsman at:

Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH

Tel: 0300 555 0333

More information about the Legal Ombudsman is available on their website: http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk

As set out on the Legal Ombudsman’s website here, there may be a time limit applicable to any complaint you may wish to make.  The Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within one year of the date of the act or omission about which you are concerned or within one year of you realising there was a concern. You must also refer your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to you.

• The decision data on the Legal Ombudsman’s website can be accessed here.
• The decision data on the Legal Ombudsman’s website shows providers which received an ombudsman’s decision in the previous calendar year. In each case, the data shows whether the Legal Ombudsman required the provider to give the consumer a remedy.

ADR approved bodies

In the event that it does not prove possible to settle your complaint using our formal complaints procedure, and all parties consent, alternative complaints bodies exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services (e.g. ProMediate)

For further information please contact the clerks.