You may make a complaint direct to chambers about a barrister or member of staff of Seven Chambers. A professional client or a lay client may make a complaint about the service provided by a barrister that they instructed or a member of staff. A complaint may be made about the professional conduct of a barrister or member of staff whether you are a client of a barrister at Chambers or not.
How complaints are handled
Members of Seven Chambers are independent professionals who join together in Chambers to provide services to their clients. Any complaint to the barrister will be handled on his or her behalf usually by the Senior Clerk and/or by the Head of Chambers.
A complaint against a member of staff will normally be investigated by Senior Clerk and/or by the Head of Chambers unless the complaint concerns the Senior Clerk and/or the Head of Chambers in which case it will be investigated by the Chairman.
Confidentiality
All communications and documents relating to complaints will be kept confidential. They must be disclosed only so far as is necessary for:
- the investigation and resolution of the complaint
- internal review in order to improve chambers' or the BSB entity's (as appropriate) handling of complaints
- complying with requests from the Bar Standards Board in the exercise of its monitoring and/or auditing functions
Making a complaint
There is no charge for making a complaint and chambers will bear the cost of operating the complaints process. A complaint can be made in writing or by telephone and all complaints are recorded and filed in a complaints file.
A barrister who is the subject of the complaint, the Senior Clerk or the Head of Chambers (as may be appropriate) will acknowledge the complaint in writing within 5 days of receipt, or as soon thereafter as is practicable.
It is preferable if a complaint can be made in writing and the letter or email should give the following details:
- If possible, the case reference number (found on all fee notes and correspondence from us).
- Your name and address. Please ensure you can receive correspondence at this address. Please also give an email address and a daytime telephone number if possible.
- Which member of chambers or staff member you are complaining about.
- What you are complaining about.
- What you would like done about it.
If you have a disability or are not fluent in written English and as a result have difficulty in carrying out this procedure yourself — and you do not have a solicitor — you may ask someone else to make a written complaint on your behalf. We may require proof that you have given them authority and on what basis.
Investigation
The complaint will normally be investigated within 56 days of being acknowledged and a written response sent to the complainant by letter or email. If more time is required, the complainant will be notified.
We do expect the complainant to cooperate with reasonable requests for further information and for clarification of the complaint being made and we reserve the right to complete our Complaints Handling Procedure on the information given in a reasonable time.
Outcome of an investigation
After a full investigation, the Senior Clerk and/or Head of Chambers shall:
- inform the complainant that the complaint has been investigated and found not to be justified, explaining why; or
- inform the complainant that the complaint has been investigated and found to be justified; and either:
- explain the remedial action proposed and any form of compensation, or
- if deemed to be serious, refer the matter to the Chairman for resolution with the complainant.
Legal Ombudsman
If you are the barrister's client, (professional or lay) and have made a complaint about the service provided by the barrister which has been investigated and you remain dissatisfied with the response to your complaint, then you may ask the Legal Ombudsman to review the matter.
The time limits for referring complaints to the Legal Ombudsman are:
- one year from the date or omission being complained about or
- one year from the date when the complainant should have realised that there was cause for complaint.
- six months from receipt of our final written response.
A link to the Legal Ombudsman can be found here:
https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/
The Legal Ombudsman contact details are: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH. Tel: 0300 555 0333
Bar Standards Board
If your complaint concerned professional misconduct and you were not satisfied with the result of the investigation by chambers, whether or not you were the client of the barrister, then you may ask the Bar Standards Board to review the matter.
A link to the Bar Standards Board can be found here:
https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/
The Bar Standards Board's contact details are: Bar Standards Board, Professional Conduct Department, 289-293 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7JZ. Tel: 020 7611 1444
Professional negligence
If your complaint involves allegations of professional misconduct or professional negligence it may be that our Complaints Handling Procedure is not suitable to resolve it, or part of it. You will be informed if it is considered that your complaint is wholly or partially unsuitable for our Complaints Handling Procedure for this reason.
Any complaint which involves an allegation of professional negligence or any other possible claim on the barrister's insurers, the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund Limited, will need to be reported to them directly.
Version 1.0 June 2026