Complaints Policy

Last updated: April 2026

Our aim is to give you 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.

Complaints Made by Telephone

You may wish to make a complaint in writing and, if so, please follow the procedure below. However, if you would rather speak on the telephone about your complaint then please telephone one of the individuals nominated under the Chambers Complaints Procedure to deal with complaints – Callum Stebbing, Senior Clerk – who will also deal with complaints about a member of staff.

The person you contact will make a note of the details of your complaint and what you would like to have done about it. He will discuss your concerns with you and aim to resolve them. If the matter is resolved he 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.

If the complaint is about the Senior Clerk, please write to the Heads of Chambers – Paras Gorasia or David Stephenson.

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

Please give the following details:

  • 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.

Please address your letter to Callum Stebbing at the Chambers address. We will, where possible, acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two days and provide you with details of how your complaint will be dealt with.

Our Joint Heads of Chambers, Paras Gorasia or David Stephenson, will consider the complaint and either deal with it or, within 14 days of the receipt of your letter/email, will appoint another senior member of Parity Chambers to investigate it. If your complaint is against one of the Joint Heads of Chambers, the Senior Clerk will pass the complaint to an alternative senior member of chambers who has no involvement in the complaint.

The person appointed to investigate will write to you as soon as possible to let you know he/she has been appointed and that he/she will reply to your complaint within 14 days. If he/she finds later that he/she is not going to be able to reply within 14 days he/she will set a new date for his/her reply and inform you. His/her reply will set out:

  • The nature and scope of his investigation;
  • His/her conclusion on each complaint and the basis for his/her conclusion; and
  • If he/she finds that you are justified in your complaint, his/her proposals for resolving the complaint.

Confidentiality

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 head of Chambers, members of our management committee and to anyone involved in the complaint and its investigation. Such people will include the barrister member or staff who you have complained about, the head or relevant senior member of the panel and the person who investigates the complaint. The Bar Standards Board is entitled to inspect the documents and seek information about the complaint when discharging its auditing and monitoring functions.

Our Policy

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.

Complaints to an Alternative Complaints Body

If it has not been possible to settle your complaint using our internal complaints process, you may wish to consider an alternative dispute resolution. Alternative complaints bodies exist such as Ombudsman Services, ProMediate and Small Claims Mediation which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services should both you and the Member of Chambers/staff being complained about wish to use such a scheme.

We do agree to use ProMediate – www.promediate.co.uk

Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman

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 Ombudsman is not able to consider your complaint until it has first been investigated by Chambers.

Please note that the Legal Ombudsman has time limits in which a complaint must be raised with them. Ordinarily the Complainant must refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman no later than:

  • One year from the act/omission; or
  • One year from when the complainant should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint;
  • Within six months of receipt of our final decision on your complaint.

The Ombudsman can extend the time limit in exceptional circumstances. Chambers must therefore have regard to that 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 full list of who has a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman is available on their website.

It should be noted that it may not always be possible to investigate a complaint brought by a non-client. This is because the ability of Chambers to satisfactorily investigate and resolve such matters is limited and complaints of this nature are often better suited to the disciplinary processes maintained by the Bar Standards Board. Therefore, Chambers will make an initial assessment of the complaint and if they feel that the issues raised cannot be satisfactorily resolved through the Chambers complaints process they will refer you to the Bar Standards Board.

Legal Ombudsman

PO Box 6806

Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ

Telephone: 0300 555 0333

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Link to the decision data on the Legal Ombudsman website:
The decision data on the Legal Ombudsman’s website shows providers which received an ombudsman’s decision in the previous calendar year. In each case, the data shows whether the LO required the provider to give the consumer a remedy.
https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/raising-standards/data-and-decisions/

Bar Standards Board

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

Professional Conduct Department

289-293 High Holborn

London WC1V 7JZ

Telephone: 0207 6111 444

Website: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Link to the Barrister Register:
The BSB’s Barristers’ Register shows (1) who has a current practising certificate, and (2) whether a barrister has any disciplinary findings, which are published on the Barristers’ Register in accordance with their own policy.
https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/regulatory-requirements/the-barristers’-register/

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