Chambers of Tom Bradford
483 Green Lanes
London
N13 4BS
London
tom@tom-bradford.com
Dear Sir/Madam,
Terms of work – consultation call
You would be engaging me for an initial consultation call as an independent barrister, through the public access scheme.
This is to provide you with some information about our call and my service. It is important that you understand my full terms as, subject to the matters covered below, they will form a contract between us.
It is possible that you may be eligible for public funding by the UK government or âlegal aidâ as it is usually referred to. However, as a barrister I cannot do legal aid work unless I have been instructed by a solicitor. If you want to talk to someone in more detail about getting legal aid, you should contact a solicitor who does legal aid work.
- I do not advise on tax matters. I am happy to recommend an accountant if you wish.
- I do not advise on non-UK law matters. I would be happy to suggest foreign lawyers on my network, if appropriate, subject to which jurisdiction it concerns.
Here is the Bar Standard Boardâs (BSB) guidance for lay clients, which explains how the Public Access scheme works: https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/for-the-public/finding-and-using-a-barrister/how-to-instruct-a-barrister/public-access-guidance-for-lay-clients.html
This is to set out the work that I will carry out for you and the fees that I will charge for this work.
The work I will carry out and fee
The work you are instructing me to carry out is to attend on an initial consultation call. The fee I charge is to cover the customer due diligence checks. I will perform this service by conducting those checks. I will then attend on our call on Zoom. There is no fee for the call itself, but if subsequent work is needed on this matter after our call, then there will be another letter of agreement between us.
Since I carry out all my work personally and cannot predict what other professional responsibilities I may have in the future, I cannot at this stage confirm that I will be able to accept instructions for all subsequent work that may be required for your case.
Professional fees and ‘no show’ for the call
The fee for the initial consultation call is set out in the scheduling link provided to you. In circumstances in which there is a ‘no show’, i.e. I have attended the call, and waited, but you do not attend, and I have not been informed by you in advance that you will not attend, then I will be happy to speak with you again, but you will need to pay for the ‘no show’ call.
Outcomes
Whilst I do my utmost to advance my clientsâ cases, I do not guarantee the success of any application (whether endorsement, visa, ILR or naturalisation), administrative review or appeal, to which the project call relates. There is a risk of refusal. Success in previous cases that you may have seen from my client testimonials or from anyone who may have recommended me, is no guarantee of success in future cases. My professional fees are not contingent on whether the outcomes is successful. Furthermore, as confirmed in the terms of the last call, I cannot do âlegal aid workâ (work where your fees are paid by the government) unless I have been instructed by a solicitor. Again, if you wish to discuss legal aid further before making a decision about whether to instruct me, please let me know. This is the Bar Standard Boardâs (BSB) guidance for lay clients, which explains how the Public Access scheme works (link also here): https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/for-the-public/finding-and-using-a-barrister/how-to-instruct-a-barrister/public-access-guidance-for-lay-clients.html My support team can make available to you a copy of my practising certificate upon request if you ask me.
If you are dissatisfied with the service you receive
If, for any reason, you are unhappy with the service you receive, my chambers has a complaints process that you may follow. Further details about what to do if you have a complaint are set out in my terms. I am required to comply with the Code of Conduct in the BSB Handbook â details of where you can access this are set out in my terms below.
Right to cancel
If the call has yet to take place, and it is canceled by you, then I will reimburse to you in full the fee for that call. You can do this by simply clicking on the âcancelâ button you have been sent. You do not need to give me a reason or fill out any forms.
For completeness, I am under an obligation to inform you of what the law says about cancelled contracts. The law says you have the right to cancel if this contract is concluded: (1) âOff-premisesâ. This means we have agreed what I will do by having a face-to-face discussion (which may have been with me or my clerk) in a place other than my chambers (this could have been at your home, workplace or at court); or (2) âAt a distanceâ. This means we have agreed what I will do for you by e-mail, post or a website, without a face-to-face discussion with me or my support team. The law says that, to exercise any right to cancel, you must inform me of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail to the contact details provided on my letterhead). If applicable, the cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day on which the contract is agreed by us. You may use the attached model cancellation form, but it is not obligatory. The law says that to meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.
Effects of cancellation
If the initial consultation call has yet to take place, and it is canceled by you, then I will reimburse to you in full the fee for that project call. I will make this reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which I was informed about your decision to cancel this contract. I will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, via Stripe, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement.
Yours sincerely,
Tom Bradford
Barrister
Chambers of Tom Bradford
483 Green Lanes
London, N13 4BS
tom@tom-bradford.com
My terms:
1.    I will be responsible for attending the initial consultation call. You are engaging me now as an independent barrister, through the public access scheme. I am regulated by the Bar Standards Board.
2. On the basis of our communications to date I consider that I have sufficient experience and competence to conduct the call. If, before or during the course of the call, it becomes apparent that this is not the case, then I will bring this to your attention.
3. If for any reason I cannot attend on the call, or if I want to suggest that another barrister or solicitor (instead of me, or as well as me) carries out the work for you, I may propose this and explain why I have made this suggestion.
4. There may be times when my professional commitments clash. If I identify a possible clash of commitments and I am unable to work on your case I or my support team will do my best to notify you and rearrange our call.
The work I will carry out
5. The work you are instructing me to carry out is to attend on an initial consultation call. The fee I charge is to cover the customer due diligence checks. I will perform this service by conducting those checks. I will then attend on our call on Zoom. There is no fee for the call itself, but if subsequent work is needed on this matter after our call, then there will be another letter of agreement between us.
6. If subsequent work is needed on this matter, and I am available to do the extra work, there will need to be another letter of agreement between us.
The range of work barristers can carry out (but NOT included in these instructions for our consultation call)
7. Barristers advise on the law, draft documents for clients to use and appear on behalf of their client before courts or other organisations. Barristers do not handle client money and I would not in my capacity as an independent barrister.
8. Whilst NOT included in these current instructions, here are some examples of work I can carry out.
(1) I can draft letters on your behalf.
(2) I can appear on your behalf to argue your case at court.
(3) If a witness statement is needed from you, I can draft it from what you tell me. I may also be able to help finalise a witness statement from another person based on the information that person has provided.
(4) I can advise you on the need for expert evidence and on the choice of a suitable expert and instruct an expert on your behalf. Expert evidence is evidence about a professional, scientific or technical matter provided by an individual with expertise in that area.
(5) I can draft formal court documents for you. However, I cannot serve court documents on other parties or file them at court on your behalf. You will need to take responsibility for serving formal court documents on other parties and filing them at court. Serving court documents is the process by which papers relating to a case are put before the court or tribunal and the parties, e.g. individuals or organisations, involved in the case. This usually signals the start of formal proceedings.
I can draft formal court documents for you, serve court documents on other parties and file them at court on your behalf. Serving court documents is the process by which papers relating to a case are put before the court or tribunal and the parties, e.g. individuals or organisations, involved in the case. This usually signals the start of formal proceedings.
I can go on the court record and provide my address to the court as the âaddress for serviceâ of documents. This is the address which must be provided to the court for receipt of formal court documents sent by the court or other parties.
9. As you are instructing me without a solicitor, you must be sure that:
(1) you are able to do whatever is necessary for those matters that I cannot deal with; or(2) you have made an arrangement with another person of suitable competence and experience to provide these services for you. If, upon having the initial consultation, it seems appropriate to deal with this matter through a solicitors firm, then I will make that known to you.
As you are instructing me without a solicitor, you must be sure that:
(1) you are able to do whatever is necessary for those matters that I cannot deal with; or
(2) you have made an arrangement with another person of suitable competence and experience to provide these services for you. If, upon having the initial consultation, it seems appropriate to deal with this matter through a solicitors firm, then I will make that known to you.
Circumstances when I may not be able to act for you
10. As a barrister, I must follow the Code of Conduct in the BSB Handbook, which is available on the BSBâs website: https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/
11. That Code of Conduct requires me to consider whether a solicitor needs to be instructed in your own interests. If there comes a point at which I consider you need a solicitor then I will no longer be able to act for you as an independent barrister, and will invite you to instruct either the solicitors firm in which I work, or another solicitors firm as appropriate. If I foresee that situation arising, I will give you as much notice as possible.
Legal aid
12. It is possible that you may be eligible for public funding or âlegal aidâ as it is usually referred to. However, as a barrister I cannot do legal aid work unless I have been instructed by a solicitor. If you want to talk to someone in more detail about getting legal aid, you should contact a solicitor who does legal aid work. They will be able to advise you about legal aid arrangements relating to civil cases e.g. where you are in dispute with another individual or organisation and criminal cases e.g. where a crime may have been committed.
13. You can find out more information on the www.gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid
14. If you wish to be assessed for legal aid for a civil case, you can contact Civil Legal Advice. This is a service which provides advice about family, debt, benefits, housing, education or employment problems. You can call them on: 0845 345 4345. You can also use their online legal aid calculator. This is a tool which allows you to check whether you can get legal aid for your case, if it is a civil case. This tool allows you to get online advice and can help you find a legal adviser near you: https://www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid
15. If you do not qualify for legal aid, you might like to consider whether you have any insurance policies that might cover your legal fees, or if the fees may be paid by someone else, for example a trade union.
16. I can advise and represent you if:
¡ you make an informed decision not to seek public funding;
¡ you make a public funding application, e.g. you have applied to get legal aid to help fund your case, that is rejected;
¡ you do not wish to take up an offer of public funding (perhaps because you consider that the level of contribution you will be required to make is too much).
17. By proceeding, you agree that you have been informed that you may be eligible for public funding and where you can find further information. You are choosing to instruct me without the benefit of any public funding that may be available to you.
My availability
18. As I carry out all my professional work personally, there may be times when I am not available to you. If I become unavailable for this work, then I will endeavour to give you as much notice as possible. My support team may contact you directly in the unlikely event that I am unwell or otherwise unexpectedly unavailable.
Professional fees
19. The work you are instructing me to carry out is to attend on an initial consultation call.
21. The fee I charge is to cover the customer due diligence checks. I will perform this service by conducting those checks. I will then attend on our call on Zoom. There is no additional fee for the initial consultation call, but if subsequent work is needed on this matter after our call, then there will be another letter of agreement between us.
Cancellation
22. Your right to cancel the project call is set out in my cover letter.
23. You will lose any right to cancel this contract for the initial consultation call if the services have been fully performed at your express request within the cancellation period, i.e. if the call has already taken place.
Documents and consent to process personal data
24. In signing these terms, you confirm that you have given me your consent to process your personal data for the purpose of carrying out your instructions. You have a right to withdraw consent, but if you do so I will not be able to carry out your instructions. Any documents or information you share with me will be accessible only to me and my support team.
25. If you share any documents or information via Google Drive folder, you confirm that you have read, understand and agreed to the terms of Google Drive and their processing of data and security measures. You acknowledge that although you can âunshareâ these documents at any time, I am entitled separately to keep records of any documents you make available to me for professional records for seven years (see immediately below).
24. You and I agree that:
(1) I am entitled to keep copies of any documents you make available to me for my own professional records for seven years in accordance with Rule C129 of the BSB Handbook; and
(2) If any hard copy documents are sent to me (I would not normally ask for this) then I will return all your original documents to you when I have carried out the work you have instructed me to do, in accordance with Rule C131 of the BSB Handbook.
General obligations
27. The information which you give me will be received in professional confidence. This means that I must maintain the confidentiality of any information you have shared with me and can only tell others beyond my support team if you give your consent for me to do so (which I would obtain if and when needed). The only exception is that statutory and other legal requirements may mean that I have to disclose (i.e. reveal) your information to governmental or other regulatory authorities, e.g. organisations, whose rules I must meet, without your consent and without telling you that I have made the disclosure. Statutory and legal requirements are rules or regulations that an individual must, by law, follow.
28. This contract will be governed by English law, and any dispute will be subject to the jurisdiction of the English courts. Jurisdiction means the power and authority of a court or tribunal to determine the outcome of a case and impose sanctions or penalties on those involved.
Complaints
29. I hope you will be happy with the professional services I provide. However, if you are not satisfied, you should first refer the matter either to me or to my chambers in line with my chambersâ complaints procedure. If you would like a copy of the complaints procedure, please ask me. If you are not happy with my reply or my chambersâ reply then you can contact the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman is a free, impartial and independent service set up by the Government which deals with complaints about the service you have received. You must complain to the Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint from myself or from my chambers (provided the response specifically notifies you of your right to complain to the Ombudsman and of the six month time-limit). A complaint to the Ombudsman must also be made not more than six years after the act or omission complained about, or not more than three years from the date when you should reasonably have known that there were grounds for complaint. For further details about how to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, please contact the Legal Ombudsman directly at: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk Phone: 0300 555 0333 Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Cancellation form for canceling the project call (you can also do this by simply clicking on the âcancelâ button you have been sent)
To: Chambers of Tom Bradford, 483 Green Lanes, London, N13 4BS, London
tom@tom-bradford.com
I/We [*] herby give notice that I/We [*] cancel my/our [*] contract for the supply of the following service [*], Ordered on [*], Name of consumer(s): Address of consumer(s): Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper): Date: [*] Delete as appropriate.
Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any feedback or questions.
Best wishes,
Tom Bradford