CLIENT CARE INFORMATION
Clarendon Chambers aims to provide the highest possible standards of advocacy, advice and service. With this in mind, we provide this information sheet in order to set out in clear terms, our polices and practices as they relate directly to the service we provide for you. Feel free to contact our Senior Clerk should you have any queries that you feel remain unanswered by this information sheet or our other promotional material.
Quality Standards
Review of new Instructions and Briefs: Counsel will review new briefs and instructions within 5 days of receipt (or sooner if marked urgent) to provide an initial response or to assess whether they are able to conduct the work by the date required. If it is not possible for the instructions to be completed by the required deadline, a revised date will be agreed with you. If, for any reason this is not acceptable to you, the instructions will be returned to the Clerks to be allocated to alternative Counsel in agreement with you.
Paperwork: It is Chambers’ policy that all written work should be completed within 14 days of receipt. This standard will be applied unless you agree to an alternative deadline (shorter or longer) appropriate to your case. Any such agreement will be recorded on our computer system so that we can monitor progress against our commitment to you. Every attempt will be made to adhere to these arrangements but we will notify you as soon as possible in the unlikely event of our being unable to meet the deadline set. If a matter is required to be dealt with urgently, it would assist if you could contact us in advance and/or clearly mark the covering letter and back sheet as “urgent” and stating your preferred return date.
Court Appearances: When you contact Chambers to book Counsel, we will advise you if the barrister of your choice has an existing commitment and establish your wishes as to use of alternative Counsel. We are a Chambers that is able to provide breadth and depth of expertise in each of our core areas of practice. Should you wish to double-book your preferred choice of Counsel, we will keep you informed as to likely availability as the court date approaches so that you may reassess your options. In the unusual circumstance that acceptable cover cannot be provided in Chambers, we will, if required, help in finding other Chambers to assist you. In the event that a case settles or is adjourned prior to the hearing, we ask that you inform Chambers at the earliest possible time so that the booking can be removed from Counsel’s diary. In the event that Chambers is not informed in good time that Counsel is not required, a retainer fee will be charged regardless of whether a brief had been delivered.
Briefs: It is vital to the smooth and effective handling of a case that we have sufficient time to prepare for court appearances. Many cases now require skeleton arguments to be lodged in advance of the hearing so it is therefore vital that instructions are sent to us giving ample time for preparation.
Quality Management
Members of Chambers practice under the Code of Conduct of the Bar of England and Wales and adhere to Chambers policies and procedures defined in our Quality Manual. Chambers holds the Investors in People standard and Legal Services Commissions Quality Mark for the Bar.
Terms of Business and Basis of Fees
We strive to provide a very high quality service at competitive rates. The Senior Clerk is available to discuss fee levels and basis of fees with our clients and our policy for fee calculation is set out below for your information. All new instructions and briefs will be acknowledged to confirm receipt (by conventional post/DX or electronically) and to advise of Counsel instructed and of the case reference should you have a query. Negotiations regarding fees are noted separately on our computerised case management records. Confirmation of fees will be provided in writing if requested.
All time spent is recorded on Chambers computer system to ensure that the fees charged can be substantiated by specific work activities by the barrister. If requested, the Clerks will be able to explain further how the eventual fee was calculated.
It is our policy to render a fee note on completion of any work incurred.
On privately funded cases (cases not publicly funded), we expect our fees to be settled within 21 days of the date of our fee note. You are asked to contact the Senior Clerk should this not be acceptable to you.
We adhere to the Bar Council’s Code of Practice in respect of our fees collection procedures, progressing payment of our fees and credit control in general.
In accordance with Bar Council regulations, any firm of solicitors whose name appears on the “Withdrawal of Credit Scheme” will be required to pay counsel’s fees in advance of any work being undertaken.
Policy for Fees Calculation:
Court hearings
The basis for fees to be charged will be agreed in advance of the hearing. Fees for court work take into account the following factors:
- estimated time required for preparation
- estimated time to be spent at court
- case complexity
- the value / issues at stake
- seniority of the barrister
- whether an abnormal workload was placed on the barrister through late instructions / urgency of the work etc.
- the degree to which specialist knowledge is required
- travelling / hotel expenses likely to be incurred
Paperwork
Normally fees for paperwork are not agreed in advance, however, if an estimate is required, the Clerks (in liaison with the barrister concerned if necessary) will provide an approximate fee, although this will always be subject to receipt of all the papers. The following factors are taken into account when providing such estimates and when compiling the fee note:
- preparation time taken to complete the work
- complexity of the matter
- the value / issues at stake
- seniority of the barrister
- the urgency of the work and the need to reschedule other matters
- the degree to which specialist knowledge is required
Continuous Improvement
The Management System that we operate incorporates continuous improvement mechanisms that allow us to monitor our effectiveness against our standards, procedures and policies and to instigate improvement initiatives where relevant. An important source of information for improvement comes from client feedback and we would ask you to inform us immediately should you experience any difficulty with our Chambers, its staff or its members. We have appropriate internal procedures for addressing clients’ concerns and take their comments seriously.
The Future
Clarendon Chambers operates strategic development and annual planning processes to ensure that clear objectives are set and the services we provide keep pace with changing client needs and a rapidly changing legal profession. We welcome your views regarding our services and to this end would encourage you to provide feedback regarding the service provided, either on a case by case basis or during training and social events. From time to time, we will also conduct Client surveys to gauge opinion on how well we are achieving our objectives and would appreciate a few minutes of your time in completing the form if you are one of our clients selected, at random, to participate in this process. In the meantime, thank you for your valued instructions and please do not hesitate to contact us whenever we can be of further assistance.