Governance & complaints

Whilst sharing the costs of offices and administration, barristers do not share in profits of liabilities. Each practitioner is registered with the Bar Council; practicing details are available to view on the Barristers’ Register maintained by the Bar Standards Board.

All practising barristers in these Chambers maintain (as a minimum) professional liability insurance provided by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund, managed by the Bar Mutual Management Company, 90 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 4ST. Territorial coverage is worldwide, subject to the terms of cover of the Bar Mutual.

Each barrister is VAT registered. Details are available for individuals on each barrister CV page.

Chambers is governed by a written constitution. Heads of Chambers are elected for a fixed five year term. The current Heads of Chambers are Tom Weisselberg KC and Jane Mulcahy KC. 

A Chambers Management Committee is also directly elected, with a variety of functional committees operating to cover specific areas of Chambers' administration.

Barristers in Blackstone Chambers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board.  

All barristers’ details are contained on The Barristers’ Register, the online database maintained by the BSB.  This is fully searchable and displays details of all barristers who are authorised to practise in England and Wales and who have a current practising certificate with the dates of validity.  It includes information about barristers' practising status, their practising address, the reserved legal activities they are authorised to undertake and whether they have been the subject of any disciplinary findings which are published on its website.

The Barristers’ Register is available at https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/regulatory-requirements/the-barristers'-register/

Alternatively, the Bar Standards Board is contactable by phone on 020 7611 1444 or e-mail: contactus@barstandardsboard.org.uk.

We also recognise the absolute importance of client confidentiality.  Members of Chambers and staff are fully cognisant of the duty to keep the affairs of each client confidential (Core Duty 6 of the Bar Standards Board’s Handbook and rC89.5).

Blackstone Chambers is a substantial civil law set and due to the number of specialist counsel in these Chambers, we are often instructed for multiple parties to a case.   We have for many years, therefore, maintained a properly formulated conflicts policy which operates where these circumstances occur. 

Please contact Mat Swallow for more information about our policy and procedures if required.

We are very keen to ensure that the service we offer, whether by a practising member of chambers or by a member of the administrative staff, is of the highest quality. We welcome feedback from solicitors and lay clients and, should we receive any complaint, it will be taken very seriously. If you should have any concerns about any administrative or other matters in Chambers, please raise them with either Mat Swallow, our Chambers Director, or Derek Sutton or Adam Sloane, our Senior Clerks.

If you wish to invoke our complaints procedure, details of that procedure are set out below.

Blackstone Chambers Complaints Procedure

1. Blackstone Chambers prides itself on the excellence of its service. If at any time you have any concerns about the quality of the services of our barristers or members of staff, you are invited to let us know as soon as possible.
2. In line with our friendly and open approach, you are welcome to discuss any day-to-day concerns about the services of our barristers directly with them. If you have been unable to resolve your concerns or would prefer not to speak to the barrister directly, please contact Mat Swallow, our Chambers Director.
3. Any such concerns can also always be raised with our clerking team, and, in particular, with Derek Sutton or Adam Sloane, our Senior Clerks.
4. Any concerns about members of staff should be raised with Mat Swallow, our Chambers Director, as appropriate. If the complaint is about the Chambers Director, please discuss the matter with either of the Heads of Chambers (Jane Mulcahy KC and Tom Weisselberg KC).
5. We very much hope that most concerns can be resolved at this point, and that you will be satisfied with the outcome. However, if you feel that the concern or matter you have raised has not been dealt with to your satisfaction or you feel it is too serious to be resolved informally, then you may wish to make a formal complaint. We set out the steps in our formal complaints procedure below.

Formal complaints procedure

1. Please address your formal letter of complaint to Mat Swallow, our Chambers Director, Blackstone Chambers, Blackstone House, Temple, London EC4Y 9BW. Please give the following details: your name and address, which barrister(s) (member(s) of Chambers) or staff you are complaining about; the detail of the complaint; and what you would like done about it. If the complaint is about the Chambers Director, please address your letter to either of the Heads of Chambers (Jane Mulcahy KC and Tom Weisselberg KC).

Within 21 days of your letter being received either one of the Heads of Chambers or the Chambers Director will appoint someone to investigate the complaint

1. The person handling the investigation will write to you as soon as possible to let you know they have been appointed and that they will reply to your complaint within 21 days. If it is not possible to complete the investigation in that period, they will write to you within 21 days to explain that they require longer to investigate and when they expect the investigation to be complete. The reply to the complaint will set out:

• The nature and scope of their investigation;
• Their conclusion on each complaint and the basis for their conclusion; and
• If they find that you are justified in your complaint, their proposals for resolving the complaint.

Except in the case of obvious factual error, or at Chambers’ absolute discretion, the complaints procedure ends with this decision letter. The person handling the investigation will forward a further copy of this complaints procedure with their response to the complaint drawing attention to your right to contact the Legal Ombudsman or the Bar Standards Board.

Opposing Party Complaints

1. It may not always be possible to investigate a complaint brought by a non-client of Chambers because of limitations on our ability to satisfactorily investigate and resolve such matters. Complaints of this nature are often better raised with the Bar Standards Board. Their contact details are included at paragraph 18 below.

In such circumstances, we may disclose information we have received from you, to the extent that it is necessary to do so, to the solicitors instructing the barrister concerned. The same information may also be disclosed by us to the Bar Standards Board.

Complaints against Mediators

1. Should you have a concern regarding the behaviour of a Mediator in Chambers this procedure shall apply.

Confidentiality

1. All conversations and documents relating to the complaint will be treated as confidential and will be disclosed only to the extent that is necessary to investigate your complaint (which will include to the barrister member or staff member about whom you have complained).

Our policy

1. As part of our commitment to client care we will make a written record of any formal complaint. Our Chambers Director periodically inspects a record of complaints with a view to improving our service. Records of complaints are retained for six years.

For more information on the data we process, please see Chambers’ privacy policy - https://www.blackstonechambers.com/privacy-policy/

Alternative dispute resolution

1. Should it not be possible to resolve your complaint using Chambers’ procedure then, subject to all parties agreement, there are competent third party ADR organisations who may be able to intervene such as ProMediate and Small Claims Mediation. Further information may be obtained from our Chambers Director.

Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman or the Bar Standards Board (professional regulatory body for barristers)

1. We hope that you will use our procedure and that this will resolve any outstanding issues. However, if you are unhappy with the outcome, you have the right to take up your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman (the “LeO”). The LeO has responsibility for dealing with all service complaints against legal professionals but can normally only consider complaints after you have first raised it with Chambers under this procedure and either received our final response or eight weeks have passed without any response..

Complaints to the LeO must generally be referred within one year, although the LeO has a limited discretion to accept a complaint outside that period where it is fair and reasonable.

1. You can write to the Legal Ombudsman at:

PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

0300 555 0333

More information about the LeO is available on their website: http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk

1. Decision data sets out the names of legal service providers which received an ombudsman’s decision in the previous 12 months. It sets out whether the LeO required any provider to give the consumer/complainant a remedy. This can be viewed at http://legalombudsman.org.uk/raising-standards/date-and-decisions/#ombudsman-decision-data
2. The Bar Standards Board investigates complaints of professional misconduct or professional disciplinary issues.

You can write to the Bar Standards Board at:

Complaints Department
Bar Standards Board
289-293 High Holborn
London WC1V 7HZ

DX: 240 LDE

Tel: 020 7611 1444

Email: contactus@barstandardsboard.co.uk Website: https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/

(Updated: October 2026)