CLOISTERS PRIVACY NOTICE - RECRUITMENT AND EMPLOYMENT

You can read our privacy notice for Recruitment and Employment here.

CLOISTERS DATA PROTECTION POLICY

You can read our data protection policy here.

WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY

You can read our website privacy policy here.

OUR FEES

Cloisters welcomes instructions on a privately or publicly funded basis. We also accept work that is insurance or trade union-backed, or covered by a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

At regular intervals, Cloisters will send clients a letter requesting an update on the case. This may include a request for payment of fees. Please respond to these letters promptly so that we can keep our records up to date and so that we do not send you unnecessary reminders.

Our standard payment terms are 30 days from the date of the fee note. Cloisters  reserves the right to stop working if payment is not forthcoming and no legitimate reason is provided.

PRIVATE FUNDING

We accept privately funded work under the terms of business set out in Annexe G1 of the Bar Council's Code of Conduct.  Please click here to read or print these terms.

TERMS OF WORK FROM 31ST JANUARY 2013 TO 12TH MAY 2013

From 31st January 2013 all Cloisters Barristers undertook work from authorised persons on the basis of the new Bar Council standard contractual terms of work. These applied to all new matters and also to work undertaken from this date in existing matters. The press release of the Bar Standards Board about the reasons for these changes can be seen here. These terms applied in all cases unless specifically agreed otherwise.

TERMS OF WORK FROM 13TH MAY 2013

From the 13th May 2013 unless otherwise agreed all Cloisters' Barristers work on the basis of the Cloisters standard terms and conditions. These apply to all new matters and also to work undertaken from this date in existing matters.

If you wish to discuss different terms for Barristers to undertake work, please contact our clerks, whose details are on this link. Our clerks will be happy to discuss the terms for any specific pieces of work.

PUBLIC FUNDING

For publicly funded cases, please refer to the relevant provisions in Annexe G1, which apply to all cases that we accept on this basis. In addition, please ensure that the certificate details are provided promptly to our clerks when instructions are made.  Please note that at the end of the case, we expect final bills to be produced in a timely fashion. We also expect to be advised of any reductions at assessment while we still have the opportunity to appeal the assessment.

INSURANCE/TRADE UNION

It is understood that in cases of this nature, payment will not normally be made until the conclusion of the case. However, in some instances it is possible for interim payments to be made and we expect to receive our proportion of these payments as and when they are received.

TERMS OF WORK PRIOR TO 31ST JANUARY 2013

These changes are not retrospective and work done prior to this date was done on the previous Bar Council non-contractual standard terms.

CONDITIONAL FEE AGREEMENTS

In some circumstances, we take cases that are covered by a CFA.  Click here to see a draft agreement as recommended by APIL/PIBA

INFORMATION SHEET

We have an information sheet for clients who come to us on instructions from solicitors which can be seen here.

CLOISTERS DIRECT

All work done under Cloisters Direct is undertaken on terms and conditions agreed specifically.

REGULATION

Cloisters and its members are regulated by the Bar Standards Board. Our Barristers aim to conform to the very highest standards required by the BSB in all that they do. They are all committed to maintaining a high level of continuous practice development.

All Cloisters Barristers are registered with the Information Commissioner. They also carry professional indemnity insurance with the Bar Mutual Insurance Fund.

EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

Cloisters Chambers are leaders in all aspects of equal opportunities law and practice. We try to follow best practice in all our work and to conform to the BSB equality and diversity rules. Cloisters aim to ensure a fair distribution of work amongst pupils and members of chambers, to use fair and objective selection criteria and to allow for flexible working. Daphne Romney KC is Equality and Diversity Officer and our equality and diversity data can be found here.

PRO BONO WORK

All Cloisters Barristers undertake pro bono work. We work closely with the Bar Pro Bono Unit and the Free Representation Unit.

MAINTAINING A HIGH LEVEL OF SERVICE

We want our clients to be completely happy with the service they get from Cloisters. We always welcome constructive feed-back. We recognise that occasionally things can go wrong, and when they do, we will always try to put things right. We deal with these situations under our complaints process which can be accessed here.