Client complaint procedure
At 3 Serjeants' Inn we always aim to provide a high standard of service designed to meet the needs of our professional and lay clients at all times. However, if you have a complaint you should let use know about it as soon as possible. We will try to resolved it to your satisfaction in a timely and efficient manner.
1. When to make a complaint
If you do have a complaint it is important to us that it is dealt with an soon as possibly to your satisfaction. Therefore, any complaint should be made in accordance with the steps described below as soon after the event giving rise to the complaint as soon as possible, preferably within fourteen days.
2. How to complain
You may make a complaint either by telephone or in writing. Who you should contact in the first place will depend on the nature of the complaint.
If the complaint is about a barrister's work, it should be addressed to the barrister personally, or, if you prefer to the heads of chambers, James Watson QC and John Beggs QC, or the senior clerk, Nick Salt.
If the complaint is about the conduct of a barrister it should be addressed to the barrister personally, or, if you prefer, the heads of chambers, James Watson QC and John Beggs QC.
If the complaint is about a member of staff other than the senior clerk it should be addressed to the senior clerk, Nick Salt.
If the complaint is about the senior clerk it should be addressed to him, or, if you prefer, the heads of chambers, James Watson QC and John Beggs QC.
If any of the people mentioned above are unavailable, and the matter is urgent, a person of appropriate seniority will be made available to receive your complaint.
If you make your complaint by telephone the person whom you contact will make a note of the details of your complaint and what you would like done about it. He or she will discuss the matter with you and aim to resolve your concerns to your satisfaction. You may find it helpful to make your own note of the discussion and its outcome.
If you make your complaint in writing, you should give the following details; your name and the address at which you wish to be contacted; the barrister(s) or member(s) of staff about whom you are complaining; the details of the complaint; what you would like to be done about it.
3. Informal procedure
In the first place we will try to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction informall. The person you contact or a person of appropriate seniority to whom the complaint is referred will discuss the matter with you in accordance with section 2 above. If it is possible for the complaint to be resolved informally, this should occur within fourteen days of receiving it.
4. Formal procedure
If we consider it is not possibe to resolve your complaint informally we shall refer it to our formal procedure. If you consider your complaint has not been resolved informally to your satisfaction, or if you consider the matter too serious to be dealt with informally, you may ask us to deal with it under our formal procedure:
If you have not done so already you should record or confirm your complaint in writing by sending a letter to the appropriate person described in paragraph 3 above, giving the details described in section 2 above.
Our chambers has a panel chaired by the heads of chambers made up of senior members of chambers and the senior clerk. Within fourteen days your letter will be considered by the head of chambers or a deputy in his absence and referred to a member of the panel to investigate it. If the complaint is against the head of chambers or one of them, it will be investigated by the next most senior member of the panel. In any case the person appointed will be someone other than the person you are complaining about.
The person appointed will write to you as soon as possible to let you know of his/her appointment and that he/she intends to reply to your complaint within fourteen days. If it is found later to be impracticable to reply within fourteen days, a new date will be set and you will be informed of it.
The reply to your complaint will include a brief report of the nature and scope of the investigation carried out, the conclusion reached and the basis for it, and, if the complaint is found to be justified, proposals for resolving the matter.
5. Confidentiality
All documents and conversations relating to your complaint will be treated as confidential by us, and disclosed only to the extent that is necessary for dealing with the matter. Disclosure may be made to the heads of chambers, members of the complaints panel, the person against whom the complaint is made, and any other person necessarily involved in the investigation of the complaint.
6. The Bar Council
It is our aim to resolve all complaints through our own procedure. However, if you would rather not use this procedure, or are unhappy with the outcome, you do have the choice of taking your complaint to the Bar Council, the professional body for barristers. Its address is:
Complaints Department
The General Council of the Bar
Northumberland House
High Holborn
London
WC1V 7JZ
Tel: 020 7440 4000
Fax: 020 7400 4001
Email: complaints@barcouncil.org.uk