We take every care to ensure clients receive the best possible service from St Pauls Chambers. In the rare event you feel we have not met with your expectations on service we encourage you to make us aware in order for us to address your concern.

Resolving your complaint

First Tier Complaints Handling procedures will change in June 2026:

UPDATED GUIDANCE – Published February 2026
Effective 15 June 2026

Correct as a February 2026:

Formal Complaints are acknowledged by the Senior Clerk within 24 hours. Details of all complaints and significant feedback received are passed to the Head of Chambers for information and action where necessary. When required, the Head of Chambers will consider the best course of action after consultation with the Senior Clerk. In cases referred to the Head of Chambers for action, the resolution of the complaint will be undertaken directly between the Head of Chambers and the complainant. Copies of all correspondence will be held on file by the Senior Clerk as described below. It is not always necessary for the Head of Chambers to be part of the final response or to engage with the complainant. It is at the discretion of the Head of Chambers to determine his involvement in the complaint.

The St Pauls Chambers definition of a formal complaint is that it is:

‘an expression of dissatisfaction made to someone other than the Clerk or Barrister who was the subject of the complaint.’

This ‘someone’ will normally be the Senior Clerk, who is the individual nominated by Head of Chambers as being responsible for client care in the letter of acknowledgement. Should there be complaints against the Senior Clerk or instances deemed to be of a serious nature, they are directed to the Head of Chambers for action.

All members and staff have a responsibility to Chambers in bringing any significant negative client feedback (i.e. it falls outside the definition of a formal complaint above), to the attention of the Senior Clerk. The Senior Clerk will decide on any subsequent course of action.

Formal complaints and items of significant feedback are recorded using Chambers Complaint Form. The form is completed and actioned by the Senior Clerk in discussion with the complainant or from information contained in correspondence. A timetable will be set and a file will be opened.

At the conclusion of the complaints process, the complainant will be informed in writing of their right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman, the time frame for doing so and the full details of how to contact them.

All files will be kept for 6 years following the conclusion of the complaint.

Any complaint against the Head of Chambers will be immediately referred by the Senior Clerk to a meeting of the Management Committee for consideration and response. Should the Management Committee prove unable to resolve the complaint to the satisfaction of all parties, the matter will be referred to an ex Head of Chambers for conciliation and arbitration and the decision of this arbitrator shall be accepted as final.

The Senior Clerk will report annually to the appropriate committee on the number of complaints received, the subject areas of the complaints and the outcomes. The complaints are reviewed to identify possible training issues.

If we are unable to resolve your complaint

If the complaint cannot be resolved with this procedure, the complainant will be directed to the Legal Ombudsman. (LeO)

Clients can complain to the LeO if they are unhappy with the final response to their complaint, or if their complaint has not been dealt with in eight weeks. Clients who have a right to complain to the LeO are individuals and, broadly speaking, small businesses and charities.

The full list of who has a right to complain to LeO is available on their website here.

Getting in touch with the Legal Ombudsman

You can write to the legal Ombudsman at:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ

Phone: +44 (0)300 555 0333

Email: [email protected]

More information about the Legal Ombudsman is available on their website.

The decision data on the LeO’s website shows providers that have received an ombudsman’s decision in the previous 12 months.  In each case, the data shows whether LeO required the provider to give the consumer a remedy.

Data Protection Complaints Procedure

Introduction

This procedure explains how individuals can make a complaint about the way St Pauls Chambers has handled their personal data, what information we may need to investigate the complaint, and when they can expect a response.

St Pauls Chambers is committed to handling personal data lawfully, fairly, securely and transparently. This procedure provides a clear route for individuals to raise data protection complaints with us.

St Pauls Chambers is required to have a data protection complaints procedure as set out in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, which amended the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. This requirement came into force on 19 June 2026.

When to use this procedure

This procedure should be used where an individual has a Data Protection Complaint (DPC) and believes that St Pauls Chambers may have infringed data protection legislation in the way we have collected, used, stored, shared, retained, protected, or otherwise handled their personal data, or the personal data of someone they are authorised to act for.

What this procedure covers

How St Pauls Chambers responded to a request made under the Data Protection Act 2018, including requests for access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, portability, or other applicable data protection rights.

Concerns about the security measures used to protect personal data, including concerns arising from an actual or suspected data breach.

How St Pauls Chambers collected, used, shared, stored, retained, or deleted personal data.

Concerns about the accuracy of personal data St Pauls Chambers holds.

Any other matter relating to St Pauls Chambers’ compliance with data protection legislation.

Making a complaint – Time limits

St Pauls Chambers will only consider a DPC received within six months of the matter complained about. Complaints received outside this period will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, for example where the complainant became aware of the matter more than six months after it occurred.

How to Make a Data Protection Complaint

A DPC can be made by email to our Senior Clerk, Jayne Drake [email protected] , or in writing addressed to:

Jayne Drake
St Pauls Chambers
Park Row House,
19-20 Park Row
Leeds
LS1 5JF

Please provide as much detail as possible so that we can understand and investigate the complaint. This should include your name and contact details, a description of the issue, relevant dates, copies of correspondence, reference numbers, the personal data involved, and the outcome sought.

Supporting information required to investigate a complaint

St Pauls Chambers may need to ask someone who has made a complaint for proof of identity before we can proceed.

A DPC may be made by someone acting on behalf of another person. St Pauls Chambers may require evidence of authority to act.

In the absence of appropriate evidence, St Pauls Chambers will not investigate the complaint.

Acknowledgement and Investigation

St Pauls Chambers will aim to acknowledge receipt of a DPC within 5 working days.

We will aim to investigate and provide an outcome within one calendar month. Complex complaints may take longer to resolve.

Where necessary, St Pauls Chambers will request additional information or clarification.

We will keep the complainant updated on the progress of the investigation where possible.

Outcome and possible remedies

We will provide the complainant with the outcome of the DPC without undue delay once the investigation is complete.

Where a DPC is upheld, possible actions may include correcting inaccurate data, completing or revisiting a data protection request, improving security measures, changing internal processes, providing further explanation, offering an apology, updating records, or taking other appropriate remedial action.

Escalation to the Information Commissioner’s Office

If the complainant remains dissatisfied after receiving our response, or believes St Pauls Chambers has not handled the original DPC appropriately, they may raise the matter with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow, Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Website: https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
Telephone: +44 (0) 303 123 1113

Record Keeping and Learning

We will keep appropriate records of each DPC and use complaints to identify lessons learned, improve our handling of personal data, and strengthen data protection governance.

Review of this Procedure

This procedure will be reviewed periodically and updated where required to reflect changes in data protection law, regulatory guidance, organisational structure, or operational practice.

19 June 2026