Before making contact with Chambers, you should start by identifying the area of expertise or service required. You should consider whether you need to instruct a Solicitor or whether you wish to instruct a Barrister directly. You may also wish to give consideration to how you could fund any legal work or services.
Once you are ready to instruct a Barrister, our clerks can provide quotes for our legal services. They can be reached by telephone 0161 955 9000 during our standard opening hours which are Monday - Friday between 9am - 6pm.
Helpful information is also available on the Bar Standards Board (BSB) website.
Generally our Barristers accept instructions from:
Our clerking teams manage all instructions for our Barristers and will happily discuss any potential instructions with you. You can find their contact details according to practice areas here.
You can view the profiles of any of our Barristers here.
Absolutely. Our dedicated clerking teams are always on hand to discuss your case with you. Their contact details are available here.
Yes, our clerking teams will happily provide a no obligation quote for any service we provide. Once you have discussed the enquiry with a clerk, a quotation will be provided promptly and usually within 5 working days.
Generally our services are charged at Barristers' commercial hourly rates which are competitive in the legal marketplace. In some cases and where it is appropriate, work may be charged on a fixed fee or for a brief fee plus additional refresher fees for each day.
Our Barristers will accepts instructions on legal aid rates where those are available, details of which can be found here. Some of our Barristers, in appropriate cases will accept instructions on a Conditional Fee Agreement or Damages Based Agreement basis.
Our fees are dependent upon a number of factors including but not limited to (1) the type of case (2) the complexity (3) the documentation (4) the work involved and (5) the seniority of the Barrister.
As a guide you could typically expect to pay the following rates per hour according to level of Call:
| KC | £400 - £600 |
| 20 years plus | £275 - £400 |
| 10-15 years | £200 - £275 |
| 7 – 10 years | £175 - £200 |
| 3 – 5 years | £125 - £175 |
| Second Six Pupil – 3 years | £80 - £125 |
Please note, all information is correct as of 2020, but our hourly rates as set out above are estimates for information only. For a quote, please contact the clerks on 0161 955 9000. All our fees are exclusive of VAT.
There will be no hidden additional costs. Any additional costs will be agreed in advance and set out clearly in the client care letter provided to you. The most likely additional cost is reasonable travel expenses where a hearing or meeting is in a court or area outside of Manchester City Centre.
Under the Public Access Scheme, our fees are paid in full prior to the Barrister carrying out any work.
There are various ways to instruct a Barrister depending upon your personal and financial circumstances. We have listed some of the most common funding methods:
If you are unable to fund legal services, there may be other organisations which can provide support including:
As a guide, paperwork and advisory work can take anywhere between 7 - 28 days depending on a number of factors including:
However, shorter deadlines may be achievable. Please make the clerks aware of any deadlines so consideration can be given to your timescales when trying to allocate you a Barrister.
Court hearings from issue to a hearing or trial tend to take anywhere between 6 to 24 months excluding any possible appeals.
Our members are often instructed to act for both sides in a case and we have stringent internal procedures for ensuring that, where necessary, separate clerking is arranged, papers are held in secure storage and the relevant Barristers are also notified.
Our Barristers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB).
The BSB has an online database which contains details of all Barristers who are authorised to practice in England and Wales and who hold a current practising certificate. You can view the register here.
This information is held by the BSB in their online database.
Yes, it is a requirement for all of our practising members to hold professional indemnity insurance from the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund (BMIF) for all legal services they supply. You can view the terms of the insurance cover at www.barmutual.co.uk/downloads/
Any quote for legal services will exclude VAT.
Please refer to the terms and conditions provided to you for further information. If you are unsure, please contact the clerk who dealt with your enquiry.
Standard case fee invoices will be issued promptly either after conclusion of a case or after an agreed step (i.e. the provision of advice). In any event, this will be no more than 7 days.
For cases under the Public Access Scheme, an invoice will be issued prior to the commencement of any work.
We accept various methods of payment including BACS and cheques. Please note it is currently not possible for us to accept any card payments.
Our standard contracts require payment in full within 28 days of the date of the invoice.
Please contact one of our Fees Clerks either by email or telephone. Their contact details are avaliable here.
You can find the details of our clerks here.
Monday - Friday between 9am - 6pm.
All of our contact details are available on the Find Us page.
Chambers recognises the importance of making our facilities accessible to all. We will take every reasonable step to ensure you can gain access to our Chambers. We have a number of measures already in place including access to a car parking facilities which can booked through our Senior Clerk, Tony Morrisey on 0161 955 9000.
If anyone visiting Chambers requires any reasonable adjustments or has any particular requirements, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Rachel Swift, Chambers Practice Manager on 0161 955 9000.
Chambers welcomes feedback as part of its ongoing commitment to outstanding client care. You can provide feedback on any part of our service to our Senior Clerks. For criminal matters, its Chris Swann and for civil matters its Tony Morrissey.
You can also contact our Chambers Practice Manager, Ms Rachel Swift by email at rachel.swift@9sjs.com or by telephone on 0161 955 9000.
From 31 January 2013, we have offered barristers' services on the Bar Council approved Standard Contractual Terms for the Supply of Legal Services by Barristers. If you have any concerns or queries about the new arrangements, please do not hesitate to contact Tony Morrissey in Chambers.
You can view a copy of our standard terms here.
Chambers aims to provide all our clients with excellent service. We strive to do everything we can to ensure your objectives are met - reliably and resourcefully. We realise sometimes things do go wrong in legal practice and clients may be unhappy with the service provided by a Barrister or by Chambers.
As part of commitment to dealing with complaints conscientiously and pro-actively we have a clearly defined Complaints Procedure. A copy of which you can download here.
An individual, small business or charity may complain to the Legal Ombudsman if they are unhappy with the outcome of a complaint, or when a complaint has not been dealt with in eight weeks. A full list of who has the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman is available here.
You can write to the Legal Ombudsman at:
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
In certain circumstances, you may also report a concern to the Bar Standard Board. For further information please visit here to complete the Online Reporting Form.
The Legal Ombudsman publishes data on all complaints which have been resolved by the Ombudsman in the preceding 12 months. You can view the information here.
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on 25th April 2020 has caused societies around the world to examine their own attitudes towards race and social difference and the exercise of justice/ and power. As a Chambers involved in the administration of justice we denounce all discrimination including systemic and institutional racism and all racial violence.
We at 9 St John Street Chambers are aware of the lack of diversity across the legal profession and in particular the under representation of Black and ethnic minority practitioners at the Bar and amongst the judiciary.
We strive to work in a way that is inclusive and encourages and embraces the richness that diversity adds to the fabric of our organisation, to the Bar and to the legal profession generally.
Justice is a right for everyone and not a privilege for the few. As a Chambers we endeavour to be part of the solution in the hope that sooner rather than later there can be a fair, inclusive and accessible justice system that throughout its ranks is representative of the society we live in and the communities we serve.
Chambers has two Equality & Diversity Officers: Isabel Baylis and Boyd Morwood. You can contact them by email at edofficers@9sjs.com or by telephone on 0161 955 9000 and your query will be addressed as soon as is reasonably practicable. If there are any impending dates or deadlines to be mindful of, it would be helpful if you could notify them of the same.
You can view our Privacy Policy here.
You can view our Data Protection policy here.
You can view our Information Management policy here.
You can view the Breach Reporting Procedure here.