Complaints Procedure

1. 2BR’s aim is to provide a good service at all times. However, if you have a complaint, you are invited to let us know as soon as possible. It is not necessary to involve solicitors in order to make your complaint, but you are free to do so should you wish.
2. Please note that there are time limits in which a complaint must be raised with the Legal Ombudsman, which is the independent complaints body for service complaints about lawyers: any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must be made within one year from the act or omission being complained about or one year from when the complainant should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
3. Chambers must have regard to this timeframe when deciding whether they are able to investigate your complaint. Chambers will not therefore usually deal with complaints that fall outside of the Legal Ombudsman’s time limits. The Legal Ombudsman can extend the time limit in exceptional circumstances. Details of how to contact the Legal Ombudsman can be found at the end of this policy.
4. Please note also that there is a time limit of six months from receiving a final response from Chambers in which to refer the matter to the Legal Ombudsman, and that time limit applies so long as the final response complies with the requirements set out in Rule 4.4 of the Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, which makes it clear that the six month time limit only applies if all of the following information is “included prominently” in the “written response to the complaint”, namely:

1. • an explanation that the Legal Ombudsman was available if the complainant remained dissatisfied;
   • the provision of full contact details for the Legal Ombudsman; and
   • a warning that the complaint must be referred to them within six months of the written response.

5. The Legal Ombudsman will also only deal with complaints from consumers. This means that only complaints from the barrister’s client are within their jurisdiction. Non-clients who are not satisfied with the outcome of the Chambers’ investigation should contact the BSB rather than the Legal Ombudsman. Details of how to contact the BSB can be found at the end of this policy.
6. It should be noted that it might not always be possible to investigate a complaint brought by a non-client. This is because the ability of Chambers to investigate and resolve such matters satisfactorily is limited, and complaints of this nature are often better suited to the disciplinary processes maintained by the BSB. Therefore, Chambers will make an initial assessment of the complaint and if we feel that the issues raised cannot be satisfactorily resolved through the Chambers complaints process, we will refer you to the BSB.

Complaints Made by Telephone

7. You may wish to make a complaint in writing, and, if you do, please follow the procedure in paragraph 10 below. However, if you would rather speak on the telephone about your complaint, and if the complaint is about a member of Chambers or a member of staff, in the first instance, please contact Paul Rodgers, the Senior Clerk to Chambers.
8. If your complaint is against the Senior Clerk, Paul Rodgers, contact either of our joint Heads of Chambers, Brian Altman KC and Christine Agnew KC. Whomever you contact will make a note of the details of your complaint and what you would like to have done about it. They will discuss your concerns with you and aim to resolve them. If the matter is resolved they will record the outcome, check that you are satisfied with the outcome and record that you are satisfied. You may also wish to record the outcome of the telephone discussion in writing.
9. If your complaint is not resolved on the telephone, you will be invited to write to us about it, so it can be investigated formally.

Complaints Made in Writing

10. Where you make a complaint in writing, please provide the following details where possible:

1. • Your name and address
   • Which member(s) of Chambers you are complaining about
   • The detail of the complaint, and
   • What you would like done about it.

11. Please address your correspondence to Brian Altman KC and Christine Agnew KC, Heads of Chambers, Complaints, 2BR, 95 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1DT. We will, where possible, acknowledge receipt of your complaint within seven days and provide you with details of how your complaint will be dealt with.
12. Our Chambers has a panel to handle complaints, headed by our joint Heads of Chambers, Brian Altman KC and Christine Agnew KC, and it is made up of experienced members of Chambers able to consider any written complaint. Written complaints will be investigated by either of our joint Heads of Chambers, Brian Altman KC and Christine Agnew KC. In the event that neither Mr Altman KC nor Ms Agnew KC are able to respond to your complaint (within our policy timescales) then your complaint will be investigated by a member of the panel appointed by them within 14 days of your correspondence being received by the Heads of Chambers.
13. When we acknowledge receipt of your complaint, we will also notify you of the name of the person who will investigate your complaint.
14. If your complaint is against either of the Heads of Chambers, then 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.
15. The person appointed to investigate 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 28 days. If they find that they are not going to be able to reply within 28 days, they will set a new date for their reply and inform you. Their reply will set out:

1. • 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.

Confidentiality

16. 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 joint Heads of Chambers, members of our Management Committee and to the Chambers Manager, as well as to anyone involved in the complaint and its investigation. Such people will include the barrister or staff member who you have complained about and/or the relevant senior member who investigates the complaint. The BSB is entitled to inspect the documents and seek information about the complaint when discharging its monitoring functions.

Our Policy

17. As part of our commitment to client care we make a written record of any complaint and retain all documents and correspondence generated by the complaint for a period of six years. Our Management Committee inspects an anonymised record regularly with a view to improving services.
18. 2BR’s Equality and Diversity Policy commits Chambers to the practical application and promotion of principles of equal opportunity and diversity, and the communication of that commitment and those principles to Chambers’ members, employees, other workers, service users and the public at large. Go to https://www.2br.co.uk/equality-and-diversity/
19. If you require any reasonable adjustment in making a complaint, kindly inform us as soon as you are able.

Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman / Alternative Dispute Resolution

20. If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation and you fall within their jurisdiction, you may take up your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for complaints about lawyers, at the conclusion of our consideration of your complaint. The Legal Ombudsman is not able to consider your complaint until it has first been investigated by Chambers. Please note the timeframe for referral of complaints to the Legal Ombudsman as set out at paragraph 2 above. Those clients who are able to complain to the Legal Ombudsman are as follows:
21. You can write to the Legal Ombudsman at:

    Legal Ombudsman
    PO Box 6167
    Slough
    SL1 0EHTelephone number: 0300 555 0333

    Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

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

22. If you are unhappy with the outcome of the investigation, alternative complaints bodies (such as ProMediate) also exist which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services, should you and the barrister both wish to use such a scheme. If you wish to use ProMediate, then please contact us to discuss this. Please also note that: (1) the time limit for contacting ProMediate is two weeks immediately after the results of the Chambers investigation and (2) if mediation is used, neither you nor the barrister is required to accept the proposed resolution. If mediation does not resolve the complaint, you may still make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman (provided you fall within their jurisdiction and you do so within the time limit).
23. If you are not the barrister’s client and are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation, then please contact the Bar Standards Board at:

    Bar Standards Board
    Contact and Assessment Team
    289-293 High Holborn
    London
    WC1V 7JZTelephone number: 020 76111 444

    Website: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Updated: January 2025