Complaints against barristers
When a barrister receives a brief from a solicitor, they do not enter into a contract with the client so cannot sue if their fees are not paid and a client cannot sue for breach of contract.
But, the case of Saif Ali v. Sydney Mitchell and Co (1980) decided that a barrister can be sued for negligence in respect of written advice and opinions. In this case a barrister gave wrong advice about who to sue and because of this the claimant was too late to start proceedings against the right person.
The case of Hall (a firm) v. Simons (2000) also showed us that a lawyer can be liable for negligent advocacy. This overruled a long standing principle from Rondel v. Worsey (1969) which stated barristers should be ‘free to do their duty fearlessly and independently’. The Law Lords decided that the principle was outdated, doctors can be sued and so should advocates.
The first step in complaining about a barrister is to complain to the chambers. They will have an in-house complaints procedure and the hope is that the client will have their issue dealt with at that stage.
The Legal Ombudsman – Deals with complaints against barristers in the same way as complaints against solicitors. If they chambers has not dealt with the complaint in a satisfactory way the next step is the ombudsman.
Bar Standards Board – Regulates the profession of barristers, sets out training and entry standards as well as setting out a Code of Conduct barristers must adhere to. They investigate any alleged breach of these Codes and can discipline a barrister if necessary.
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