The purpose of this section is to provide some more information about:

  • how we provide our services;
  • how we charge for our barristers’ services;
  • how to raise a concern or complaint if you are not happy with the services provided.

Areas of Practice

The barristers at St John’s Chambers practise in the following areas of law:

Please click on the links above for details of the area of law and a list of our barristers who practise in each team. Further information can also be obtained from our clerks at [email protected] or 0117 923 4700.

All of our barristers are members of the independent Bar of England and Wales, and are regulated by the Bar Standards Board. They are self-employed individuals who are not in partnership with each other so are permitted to act against each other on different sides of the same case. They practise in the areas of law listed above and appear in a wide range of courts and tribunals across England and Wales.

Who can instruct us?

The following groups are invited to contact the clerks to enquire about instructing our barristers:

  • Solicitors;
  • Licensed Access clients, who may either hold a licence issued by the Bar Standards Board, or be a member of a professional body which has been recognised by the Bar Standards Board; and,
  • Members of the public who wish to instruct a barrister under the Public Access scheme.

We will provide quotes for fees as soon as possible and will clearly set out the basis of the quotes. Please contact our clerks if there is something about our quote which you do not understand.

The clerks will provide quotes for fees based on the information provided to them, so it is important they are given a clear picture of the amount of work that might be required, any urgent timescales and the key aspects of your case.

Some fees maybe agreed on the basis of being a fixed fee, however, the majority of non-legally-aided cases will be charged on an hourly-rate basis.

A limited amount of cases our barristers receive will be accepted under the terms of a conditional fee agreement (CFA) – often referred to as ‘no-win, no-fee’. No barrister is obliged to accept cases on this basis and we advise that you first discuss a potential CFA case with our clerks.

If you have any questions about whether you have legal insurance available to you to cover your costs and/or provide funding in relation to your legal costs then please read the guidance provided by Legal Choices.

Many cases we deal in family work, at St John’s Chambers are funded by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). It is important to note barristers must be instructed by a solicitor with a legal aid contract in these cases, the Public Access scheme does not include legally-aid matters. A solicitor will advise as to eligibility for legal aid, however this link will provide helpful information: www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid.

Pro Bono Work

Pro Bono work refers to cases that are accepted by some barristers for which they will carry out work without charging a fee. There is no obligation on any barrister to accept a case on this basis. If this is something which you would like to investigate for your case then this service is most usually provided through the ‘Advocate’ Scheme. For more information on the scheme please follow this link or call 020 7092 3960.

The basis on which fees are calculated and charged at St John’s Chambers

Barristers in the following teams most often charge on the following basis for the following areas of work (in each instance please contact the clerks to check that this system of charging will be applicable for your case):

  • Agriculture & Rural Affairs Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee
  • Clinical Negligence Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee
  • Commercial Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee
  • Construction & Engineering Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fe
  • Court of Protection These cases are split between being legally-aided and privately-funded. The rates at which a barrister is paid for legally-aided work are set by the Legal Aid Agency. In privately-funded cases, some will be charged an agreed fixed fee, but most will be calculated the on basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.
  • Employment Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.
  • Family & Divorce
  • Children The majority of public law children cases are legally-aided. Some private law cases are eligible for legal aid however most of these cases are privately-funded. The rates at which a barrister is paid for legally-aided work are set by the Legal Aid Agency. In privately-funded cases, some will be charged an agreed fixed fee, but most will be calculated the on basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.
  • Divorce and Financial Remedy: In the majority of cases, fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.
  • Inquests & Public Inquiries These cases are split between being legally-aided and privately-funded. The rates at which a barrister is paid for legally-aided work are set by the Legal Aid Agency. In privately-funded cases, some will be charged an agreed fixed fee, but most will be calculated the on basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.
  • International Arbitration Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.
  • Personal Injury Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.
  • Professional Negligence Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.
  • Public & Administrative Law Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.
  • Real Estate Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.
  • Tax Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.
  • Wills & Trusts Fees for all work, advisory, drafting and representation in this area are usually calculated on the basis of an hourly rate or as a fixed fee.

All fees are charged exclusive of VAT.

Factors that may increase fees in a case

In all privately-funded cases, whether accepted on the basis of a fixed fee or hourly rate there are factors which increase the amount of work involved and the fees charged.

Some of the influencing factors include:

  • The seniority of barrister instructed on your case. More experienced barristers are likely to charge a higher level of fees than a more junior, less experienced barrister.
  • The volume of papers involved and/or the complexity of the factual and legal issues involved.
  • Work required within short timescales which may require the barrister to prioritise a case over others, and to work out of normal working hours will usually incur higher levels of fees.
  • Case significance. Cases of particularly high-profile in terms of consequence, impact and also those with media interest may require a high level of fees.
  • The length of time the barrister is required at court.
  • The amount of travel time required for the barrister to attend court and any case conferences.

Our clerks will always discuss the likely level of fees required in each case. Should you be concerned about the level of fees that may be involved in your case please speak to the relevant barrister’s clerk at the earliest opportunity.

We will always aim to inform you if a barrister is required to carry out more work on the case than originally estimated, and will then revise the fees accordingly. Please note that the most accurate fees can be quoted if full details are given to our clerks when you are first instructing one of our barristers.

Timescales and Deadlines

Timescales can vary significantly from case-to-case. They are affected by such things as the type and complexity of the matter, and also the availability of the barrister. We will always provide an estimate of timescales and it is important that our clerks are informed at the time of enquiry of any relevant time limits and deadlines.

Public Access

Please click here for full information about Public Access cases which we accept at St John’s Chambers.

Further guidance documents are also available here from the Bar Standards Board.

Complaints

We hope that our clients will always be happy with the service we provide, however, some cases do not always end with the outcome hoped for by the client.

Should you be have any concerns or complaints about the services provided by a barrister at St John’s Chambers, or a member of our administration team, then you should please refer to our complaints procedure, and submit your complaint, in writing, to the Chambers CEO, Simon Rhodes: [email protected]

You may at any time refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman whose website is available here. The website fully sets out how your complaint will be handled and processed. For further information you can also search the Ombudsman’s Decision Data page. This data provides details about decisions made by the Ombudsman in relation to all providers over the previous 12-month period.

Each of our barristers at St John’s Chambers has in place professional indemnity insurance to cover all the legal services they offer.

Regulation

Barristers at St John’s Chambers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board.

Bar StandardS Board - Regulating Barrister

Further information about all barristers, such as whether they have a current practising certificate or any disciplinary findings against them, can be found at the Bar Standards Board Barristers’ Register.

St John’s Chambers and each of our barristers are registered with the Information Commission’s Office.

Accessibility

A copy of this factsheet is available for downloading and printing by clicking here.

Please contact us if you require this document in an alternative format.

Review date: July 2022

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