We have provided the information below in order to comply with the BSB's Transparency Rules, and in order to answer the common questions we are asked by our clients. If you have any questions which are not set out below, then please use the button at the bottom of the page to get in touch.
Visit the 'Policies' page of this website to find our complaints policy, or get in touch by telephone or by email or by letter if you would like a hard copy of the policy.
Here - https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/raising-standards/data-and-decisions/
These phrases are interchangeable. They refer to barristers who have undertaken special training which allows them to accept instructions direct from members of the public so that the client does not have to go via a solicitor. Instructing a solicitor as well as a barrister, rather than dealing with the case yourself, will usually incur additional time and money.
Yes, so long as the barrister is permitted to accept instructions direct from members of the public. CityGate Chambers Limited is permitted to accept instructions direct from members of the public. This is called 'public access' or 'direct access'.
Costs, personal injury, and property-related disputes.
Advocacy (appearing in court to represent a client, for example at a trial) and drafting (preparing written documents, such as opinions/advices, particulars of claim, defences).
For advocacy, the timescale is affected by many things, including the court and its staff and other cases, the judge and the case management decisions he/she makes, the number of witnesses (if any) and the amount of evidence, and by the amount of time needed for submissions.
For drafting, the timescale is affected by the amount of documentation and other evidence which needs to be considered, the amount and complexity of the law involved, the barrister's familiarity with the particular law in question. The pressures of other, more urgent work, and the personal situation of the barrister will affect how quickly an item of work may be completed.
Our most commonly used pricing model for legal services is either fixed fees or hourly rates. Fixed fees give our clients the comfort of knowing that the amount they have to pay to us will not spiral out of control.
Most lawyers are very bashful about publicising their prices. We are not – we take a transparent and open approach. Our work, whether charged on a fixed fee basis or not, is calculated using hourly rates of £295 for cases in the County Court, and £395 for cases in the High Court and above (excluding any applicable VAT). All fees from public access clients must be paid in advance. However, we are happy to be flexible when agreeing fees with our clients and often tailor our services to reflect a client's budget or circumstances.
Depending on the nature of the case, we will consider working on the basis of a Conditional Fee Agreement under which our fees will be £x if you win your case, or £y (a lower figure) if you lose it. How much you actually pay depends on how much work you ask us to do. Subject always to the fact that we are not allowed to conduct litigation, you can ask us to do as much or as little as you like – from drafting a letter to attending a trial as your advocate.
Payment needs to be made by bank transfer, cheque or cash. We do not accept payments by card.
No. Paying fees on account means that we would be holding your money. Like all other barristers and chambers, CityGate Chambers Limited is not permitted to hold client money.
No. If we were to do this, that would be the same as holding your money. Like all other barristers and chambers, CityGate Chambers Limited is not permitted to hold client money.
Yes. Subject to the fact that we are not permitted to conduct litigation, you can instruct us to do as much or as little as you need.
Conducting litigation includes doing things like issuing court proceedings or applications, formally sending things to (or receiving things from) court or an opponent, giving their address for service and signing off on a disclosure list. We can (and will if you instruct us to do so) prepare documents and letters for you, leaving you having only to sign them and send them on. We will do what we can to help guide you through what can often be a complicated process.
No. CityGate Chambers Limited is not authorised to conduct litigation. Conducting litigation includes doing things like issuing court proceedings or applications, formally sending things to (or receiving things from) court or an opponent, giving their address for service and signing off on a disclosure list. You will have to manage the claim yourself, including ensuring that you comply with any court deadlines.
We can (and will if you instruct us to do so), however, prepare documents and letters for you, leaving you having only to sign them and send them on. We will do what we can to help guide you through what can often be a complicated process.
That depends on how your matter progresses and the nature of any hearing that takes place. Most cases settle without the need for the parties to go to a court hearing, but some don’t.
Litigation is one method of resolving a dispute between two or more parties and includes steps taken prior to the issue of formal court proceedings. Ultimately, if no agreement can be reached between the parties in relation to a dispute, litigation will end with a judge making a decision which will usually see one party winning their case and the other party losing. As well as any damages or compensation, the loser will usually have to pay the winner’s legal costs.
There are other methods of resolving disputes which can be used instead of, or alongside, litigation. They are known as Alternative Dispute Resolution (‘ADR’), being ‘alternatives’ to litigation:
A barrister is a type of qualified legal professional. Other types include solicitors, legal executives and licensed conveyancers. The collective name for barristers is ‘counsel’.
Some people use the word ‘lawyer’ as a way to describe someone who deals with legal cases. It has no specific, ‘technical’ meaning, not in this country anyway, and it is sometimes used to include someone who is not a qualified legal professional.
A qualified legal professional is someone who has acquired legal qualifications and successfully completed a period of training. Also, they are regulated by a governing body and must conduct themselves in accordance with a set of rules, usually called a Code of Conduct. The regulatory body for barristers is the Bar Standards Board (‘BSB’). For solicitors, it’s the Solicitors Regulations Authority (‘SRA’).
A barrister’s main functions are to draft specialist legal documents (including contracts and other types of agreement and formal court papers), prepare specialist legal opinions and to appear as an advocate to present their client’s case, usually in a court room before a judge, but sometimes to a mediator or arbitrator.
A barrister’s training is different from that of a solicitor. A barrister’s training is focused on developing advocacy and drafting skills. Also, they will typically focus their practice on a limited number of fields of law. A solicitor’s training focuses on dealing with clients, advising them, dealing with matters of procedure, and on the law more generally.
So, if a solicitor needs a specialist or complex legal document drafting, or if they need someone to appear in court on behalf of their client, they are likely to instruct a barrister who specialises in the particular field of law in question.
There are a couple of other important, practical differences:
QC stands for ‘Queen’s Counsel’. Queen’s counsel are appointed by the Queen on merit by reason of their specialist skills in a particular field of law. Most QCs are barristers, but solicitors can also be appointed as a QC. During the reign of a King, ‘KC’ is used instead of ‘QC’. When a barrister is appointed as a QC, they are said to have ‘taken silk’, which refers to the fact that, as a QC, they are then permitted to wear a silk gown rather than a cotton gown. A barrister who is not a QC is referred to as a ‘junior barrister’. A junior barrister who has been qualified for a long time is referred to as a ‘senior junior’. A barrister who has just finished their pupillage and so no longer required to be a ‘pupil’ (i.e. trainee) of a more experienced barrister is referred to as a ‘baby barrister’