Mercantile Barristers
Transparency
Introduction
Transparency
Barristers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board (“the BSB”). From 1 July 2019, the BSB implemented new transparency rules following the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA’s) recommendation in December 2016 that legal regulators deliver a step change in transparency standards to help consumers understand the price and service they will receive; what redress is available; and the regulatory status of their provider.
The mandatory rules state that we must:
- State that professional, licensed access and/or lay clients (as appropriate) may contact us in chambers to obtain a quotation for legal services.
- You can contact us in chambers to obtain a quote.
- State chambers’ most commonly used pricing models for legal services.
- At Mercantile, this is usually a fixed fee or hourly rate depending on the nature of your enquiry – please contact us to find out more.
- State the areas of practice and provide a description of chambers most commonly provided legal services.
- You can find our practice areas and a detailed description of the services we provide by clicking view more or explore our expertises.
- Provide information about the factors, which might influence the timescales of chambers’ most commonly provided legal services.
- These include the timing of the client’s instructions; and the availability of the barrister’s time.
Service Information
Timescales & Fees
When our barristers are instructed to provide advisory work, their clerk will usually agree a timescale at the same time the fee is agreed and/or paid and will keep you informed if that changes for any reason, for example due to the client not providing timely and complete instructions; illness; or urgent court work on another matter.
When our barristers are instructed to provide services regarding litigation, timescales will usually depend on similar factors mentioned with regard to advisory work, plus response times of the court; the opponent; and any other third parties directly involved in the litigation, such as expert witnesses.
If you are dissatisfied with any of our barristers services, you can contact us to request a copy of our Complaints Procedure or click here to access it directly. If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may escalate it to the Legal Ombudsman. You can also review their decision data and visit the Barristers’ Register on the BSB website for more information.
Additional Services
Additional Transparency for Public Access Work
There are also additional transparency rules for those undertaking Public Access Work, which most of our barristers do. For more guidance as to what this means, you can also see the Public Access Guidance for Lay Clients on the BSB’s website.
Some of our barristers also provide the following services in the following practice areas:
- Inheritance Act advices;
- Licensing applications in relation to business premises;
- Winding-up petitions.
Given that we provide these services, you should be made aware that the same transparency notices as our usual services apply. Additionally:
All our fees are exclusive of VAT, which will apply at the standard rate. Contact us to find out if this applies to your matter. Any additional costs will be clearly identified and explained to you for your agreement before they are incurred, including what they are for. Contact us to find out more information.
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