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Care Letter
Client Care Letter Quality Standards Paperwork : It is Chambers policy that, if at all possible, instructions should be dealt with within three weeks of receipt. This policy will be applied unless you agree to another deadline (shorter or longer) appropriate to your case. Any such agreement will be recorded on our computer system so that we can monitor progress against our commitment to you. Every attempt will be made to adhere to these arrangements but we will notify you as soon as possible in the unlikely event of our being unable to meet the deadline set. If a matter is required to be dealt with urgently, it would assist if you could contact us in advance and/or clearly mark the back sheet as 'urgent'. Court Appearances : When you contact Chambers to book Counsel, we will advise you if the barrister of your choice has an existing commitment and establish your wishes as to use of alternative counsel. The size of Chambers, having fifty three members including five QC's, means that we can provide a breadth of expertise in each of our specialist areas. Should you wish to double-book, we will keep you informed as to likely availability as the court date approaches so that you may reassess your options. In the unusual circumstance that acceptable cover cannot be provided within Chambers, we will, if required, assist in finding Counsel for you. Briefs : It is vital to the smooth and effective handling of a case that we have sufficient time to prepare for court appearances. Many cases now require skeleton arguments to be lodged in advance of the hearing so it is therefore essential that instructions are sent giving ample time for preparation. For our part, we shall ensure that we arrive at court at least half an hour before the scheduled start time to allow time for discussion with yourself and your client. Quality Management Members of Chambers practise under the Code of Conduct of the Bar of England & Wales and adhere to Chambers policies and procedures defined in our Quality Manual. This has been developed to ensure compliance with the Bar Council's Practice Management Standards. Basis of Fees / Terms of Business We strive to provide a very high quality service at competitive rates. The Clerks are available to discuss levels and basis of fees with our clients, and our policy for fee calculation and terms of business is attached for your reference. We will render a fee note for our work upon request, should there be a pause in proceedings or at an appropriate stage in on-going litigation. We request our fees to be settled within 28 days of your receiving our fee note and you are asked to contact us should this not be acceptable to you. For our part, we adhere to the Bar Council's Code of Practice in respect of progressing payment of our fees. Continuous Improvement The Quality Management System we operate incorporates continuous improvement mechanisms which allow us to monitor our effectiveness against our standards, procedures and policies and to instigate improvement initiatives where relevant. An important source of information for improvement comes from client feedback and we would ask you to inform us immediately should you experience any difficulty with our Chambers, its staff or its members. We have appropriate internal procedures for addressing clients' concerns and take their comments seriously. You might also like to contact the Clerks or use the Client Feedback Form available on our web-site. The Future No. 6 operates strategic development and annual planning processes to ensure that clear objectives are set and the services we provide keep pace with changing client needs in a rapidly changing world. We would welcome your views regarding our services and to this end would ask you to provide us with feedback whenever you consider this relevant. In the meantime, thank you for valued instructions and please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance. Yours sincerely,
Tim Collins |
