prof neg against barrister

[notebookguy]

Hello,

I would be grateful for some advice.

I recently went through a 3-week employment tribunal for disability discrimination. My union provided a very poor solicitor firm, who provided a very poor service, who then provided me with a very poor barrister. I lost every single claim I brought against my previous employer. This was in part due to the poor work the solicitor did, but I feel the final nail in the coffin was done by the barrister.

You see in the final week of the ET, the respondent counsel stated that they would be submitting a written final submission on the last day. On hearing this my barrister stated he would do the same (I'm guessing he said this as it reduced his workload!). I have emails between us stating that I wanted him to give oral representations instead of just giving written ones. He said he would not be doing this as he had made up his mind. So he ignored my instructions. Come the last day of the ET, lo behold, the respondent gives a 2-hour summing up! My barrister had nothing and mumbled a few words. It was embarrassing. Anyway, I firmly believe that I lost every single one of my claims (the number of claims was in the region of about 30) because the barrister refused to follow my instructions and give an oral submission. He was clearly out-manoeuvred by a better barrister and made a complete mess of my claim.

I now believe I have a claim of pro neg against my barrister. Can anyone give me some advice on this? Do I have a claim of prof neg against the barrister? Any thoughts from legal experts would be gratefully received.

[echat11]

Hi NotebookGuy

Firstly, you (the Union might have to do this, although the case is yours, they hired the firm so they are the Client not you) would have to raise a Formal Complaint with the firm, follow their Complaint procedure.

Secondly, If you (Union, as above) aren't satisfied with the final response, a Complaint can be made to the Legal Ombudsman Service.

The firm hired / assigned the Barrister to your case, so it would be they who could lodge a Complaint against him.

ULA

[notebookguy]

Hi NotebookGuy

Firstly, you (the Union might have to do this, although the case is yours, they hired the firm so they are the Client not you) would have to raise a Formal Complaint with the firm, follow their Complaint procedure.

Secondly, If you (Union, as above) aren't satisfied with the final response, a Complaint can be made to the Legal Ombudsman Service.

The firm hired / assigned the Barrister to your case, so it would be they who could lodge a Complaint against him.

ULA

So I have no course of action against any of the legal entities if my union won't assist? That's a shame as my ex-union are a sham!

[echat11]

So I have no course of action against any of the legal entities if my union won't assist? That's a shame as my ex-union are a sham!

Wait for ULA to comment. I could write a book on 'unions', there are 'good unions' out there, but not many.

[atticus]

you may bring a complaint against your barrister.

What you say is not enough to suggest that you have grounds to bring a professional negligence claim: a lot more detail needs to be considered.

[ULA]

The first thing you need to do is read the judgement very carefully to see on what basis the Judge rejected all your claims. A judgement will provide a detailed and reasoned explanation of why each claim was rejected. You may not like the judgement that was given but you need to be very sure the barrister was negligent in the conduct of your matter before you make a complaint and that it was not down to the fact that the claims unfortunately had no merit.

As has already been stated you need to check where the client relationship stands. The solicitor’s firm would have instructed the barrister but I am presuming that the client relationship was between your union and the solicitor as they were paying the fees to the solicitor not you. If it was otherwise please let us know.

In any event the first stage would be for the complaint to be made to the barrister’s Chambers in accordance with their complaints procedure and see if the matter can be resolved that way. If it is not resolved at this stage then it would be a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. In trying to bring any claim for negligence you would need to prove that there was professional misconduct such as an incorrectly drafted tribunal document, negligent advice given, or the failure to provide adequate representation during the time that the barrister was involved in your claim.