Fountain Chambers

Our Equality and Diversity Policy sets out how we will deliver on our commitment to be part of improving diversity and inclusion at the Bar and in our workforce. It is relevant to anyone who uses our services or works with us – including members of the public, prospective barristers, practising barriers and our staff. We are committed to ensuring that our services are accessible to everyone.

Chambers’ has strong family and criminal / regulatory teams and a number of individuals who also deal with civil claims.

The clerks will be able to advise you once they understand more about your case. If you would like further information about the work done by the different teams please look at the dedicated pages on this website which add detail.

Whilst Chambers consists of a number of people working from the same place we are all individuals and self-employed. Some members of Chambers are also authorised to undertake public access work. This means that they can accept instructions directly from members of the public without the need to also use a solicitor. Those members of Chambers who offer this service refer to it in their profile and more information about how it works is available from the Bar Standards Board (external link opens in new tab or window).

If your case already has a court date please tell the clerks when you speak to them. This will ensure that those dates can be put into the barrister’s diary to make sure they are available for them. If you are looking for advice by having a meeting in person the clerks will be able to provide you with a date on which that meeting can take place. If you wish to receive advice in writing members of Chambers are normally able to provide that within 21 days but it may be longer depending on the complexity of the case, the amount of documentation they need to review and their other commitments. This will be discussed with you at the time you provide instructions. There is also more information about fees on the Public Access page of this website. Work will not begin on your case until a member of Chambers has agreed to accept the instructions and an agreement has been reached about fees.

All members of Chambers undertake publicly funded work. If you are not eligible for public funding (and you can check your eligibility using the government’s website then the fee charged will depend on the seniority of the barrister you choose as well as the complexity of the proceedings. Normally a fee will be agreed in advance for any hearing or piece of work on a ‘fixed fee’ basis. In other words the amount you will pay will be agreed in advance and will not change unless the case takes longer than originally planned. There are circumstances in which agreeing an hourly rate will be more appropriate and the clerks will be able to assist with further details. Members of Chambers are registered for VAT and VAT numbers can be provided on request to clients.

Chambers and each of our barristers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board. You can find out more information about the work of the Bar Standards Board and what you can expect from your barrister here   including searching the BSB’s register of barristers. The BSB’s register allows you to check that your barrister has a current practising certificate if you wish to do so. All members of Chambers maintain professional indemnity insurance (which is renewed annually) and are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office. Information about how we process your data can be found in the ‘quick links’ below

We hope that you will be completely satisfied with the service we provide. If you are not we would invite you to speak to your barrister directly first of all. If, however, you do wish to complain then our complaints policy can be found on our website and you also have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman  if you are unhappy with our final response to a complaint you have made to us; such a complaint must be made within 6 months of receiving our final response. The legal ombudsman has strict timescales and you should check that their website to make sure you comply with any requirements. It is normally individuals, small business and charities who have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman but a full list of those entitled to use the service is available on their website. You can contact the Legal Ombudsman at: “Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ”, enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or 0300 555 0333. You can review decisions made by the Legal Ombudsman over the last 12 months here.

This information allows you to see whether any of our barristers have received a decision from the Legal Ombudsman and whether any remedy was provided.