Complaint about barrister

[billybobynumeroduo]

Hi there,

 

I would like some advice regarding a complaint about a barrister whom represented me at my ET hearing yet did so very badly in fact to my detriment, I would have been better off representing my own case and been a couple of grand better off.

 

I have already made a complaint to the chambers who have denied everything and obviously this is very hard for me to prove as they have all their notes and I have very little in the way of evidence apart from my own factual recollections and my partner's recollections of the day.

 

Is there any hope in perusing this or is it flogging a dead horse?

 

sorry for the rant just frustrated.

 

BB

[becky2585]

It really depends - what is it you think they did wrong?

[billybobynumeroduo]

Hi Becky,

 

thanks for your question and apologies for the late response

 

the main complaints I have about the barrister:

 

Counsel failed to address the bullying and undermining which led to me having to leave my job. Which is the whole basis of the case.

 

Counsel had no real insight into the case and failed to pick out any of the subtler arguments.

 

My partner attended the hearing also and was very disappointed to say the least.Counsel's advocacy skills were extremely poor and she was unable to express or articulate herself

 

Counsel was unable to form a steady flow of conversation and was consistently stumbling around in awkwardness trying to get a simple point across. The amount of filler words used completely obliterated any cogent structure to any argument counsel was trying to get across. (example I became so frustrated that in the space of 5 mins I counted counsel say um over 100 times, this really shows how confident they were)

 

Counsel seemed awkward, timid and very unconfident.

 

Becky, I know these don't seem like much on paper but they seriously impeded the success of my case, I mean I could have represented my case better, but was too unwell to do so on the day, so was relying on the barrister.

 

Do you think there's any point in pursuing as i have very little in the way of evidence and Chambers have all the evidence to further the denial of the allegations at their fingertips.

 

Really appreciate any help as feel as though I am fighting a loosing battle

 

Regards

 

BB

Edited October 22, 2012 by billybobynumeroduo

[becky2585]

The first thing to do (if you haven't already) is submit a formal complaint to the Chambers through their complaints procedure.

 

Next, you should contact the Legal Ombudsman.

 

It's possible, however, that your complaint will not be upheld. It doesn't sound to me as though there is negligence - it's more a lack of confidence, which probably isn't sufficient for a degree of culpability. However, they may write off some of their legal fees as a gesture of goodwill. The other thing is that missing a "subtle" argument may seem important to you; but sometimes "subtle" points can undermine a case, and usually a barrister is very good at not blurring the key issues with residual things that don't matter too much.

 

The timescales are important - you need to complain to the Legal Ombudsman within one year of the act complained of and within 6 months of the final decision on your complaint being received from the chambers.

[billybobynumeroduo]

Hi Becky,

 

many thanks for this, I have submit a formal complaint to the Chambers through their complaints procedure. This was done last month.

 

I received a formal response this month denying all the allegations.

 

I will copy all the correspondence over to the Legal Ombudsman and make a formal complaint as per your advice, I have already raised the issue with them, but they said back in April they could not escalate until the complaint was raised with Chambers which has since been done.

 

You are absolutely right it was/ is an issue of confidence, I thought I was the one whom was supposed to be nervous on the day, the barrister she came out in red blotches and was stuttering, very strange for a professional advocate!!!

 

When you mention writing off of the fees, I have already received a response to the complaint and no mention of goodwill gesture, will this be offered after the complaint to the Ombudsman perhaps?

 

Many thanks

 

BB