Barristers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board (“the BSB”); and the BSB brought new transparency rules into force as of 1 July 2019, following the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) recommendation in December 2016 that the legal regulators deliver a step change in transparency standards to help consumers understand the price and service they will receive, what redress is available and the regulatory status of their provider.
The mandatory rules state that we must:
When our barristers are instructed to provide advisory work, their clerk will usually agree a timescale at the same time the fee is agreed and will keep you informed if that changes for any reason, for example due to the client not providing timely and complete instructions; illness; or urgent court work on another matter;
When our barristers are instructed to provide services regarding litigation, timescales will usually depend on similar factors mentioned with regard to advisory work, plus response times of the court; the opponent; and any other third parties directly involved in the litigation, such as expert witnesses for example
You can contact us for a copy of our Complaint’s Procedure. See the decision data on the LeO’s website; and view the Barristers’ Register page on the BSB Website.
There are also additional transparency rules for those undertaking Public Access work, which most of our barristers do. For more guidance as to what this means, you can also see the Public Access Guidance for Lay Clients on the BSB’s website.
Some of our barristers also provide the following services in the following practice areas:
Given that we provide these services; you should be made aware that the same transparency notices as our usual services apply. Additionally: