1. Our aim is to always give you a good service. However, if you have a complaint you are invited to let us know as soon as possible. It is not necessary to involve solicitors in order to make your complaint, but you are free to do so should you wish.

2. Please note that WM Legal will only consider complaints that are raised within twelve months of the act or omission complained of.

3. We ask that you put your complaint in writing to us. Please address your letter or email of complaint to Lisa Weston (Info@WMLegal.online).

4. We will, where possible, acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 7 days and provide you with details of how your complaint will be dealt with.

5. Please give the following details:

• Your name and address
• Any reference number relating to your case
• Which member(s) of WM Legal you are complaining about
• The detail of the complaint; and what you would like done about it.

6. Sometimes a complaint may arise from a simple misunderstanding or might be capable of swift resolution. Accordingly, in most cases the compliant will be referred to the individual concerned and their comments sought. Those comments will be sent to the complainant to see whether the complaint can be resolved at this juncture. If that proves impossible the following paragraphs apply.

7. WM Legal will consider any unresolved written complaint against any person within WM Legal within 28 days of your written complaint being received. The person appointed will be someone other than the person you are complaining about.

8. The person appointed to investigate 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 28 days of their appointment. If the person finds later that they are not going to be able to reply within 28 days, they will set a new date for their reply and inform you. Their reply will set out:
• The nature and scope of his 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.

Confidentiality

9. All conversations and documents relating to the complaint will be treated as confidential and will be disclosed only to the extent that is necessary. Disclosure will be to the Directors and to anyone involved in the complaint and its investigation. Such people will include the member of WM Legal who you have complained about and the person who investigates the complaint. The Bar Standards Board is entitled to inspect the documents and seek information about the complaint when discharging its auditing and monitoring functions.

Our Policy

10. As part of our commitment to client care we make a written record of any complaint and retain all documents and correspondence generated by the complaint for a period of
seven years. Our management from time to time may inspect an anonymised record with a view to improving services.

Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman

11. If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation you may take up your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for complaints about lawyers, at the conclusion of our consideration of your complaint. Ordinarily, a complainant cannot use the Legal Ombudsman unless the complainant has first used
our complaints procedure.

12. Please note that the Legal Ombudsman has the following requirements in relation to time constraints for hearing your complaint:
The problem or when you found out about it, happened after 5 October 2010; and you are referring your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within either of the following:

• Six years of the problem happening; or
• Three years from when you found out about it; and
• You are referring your complaint to them within six months of our final response.

13. You can write to the Legal Ombudsman at:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH.
Telephone number: 0300 555 0333
E-mail: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

14. The Ombudsman will only deal with complaints from consumers. This means that only complaints from the barrister’s client are within their jurisdiction. Non-clients who are not satisfied with the outcome of the Chambers’ investigation should contact the Bar Standards Board rather than the Legal Ombudsman.

15. It should be noted that it may not always be possible to investigate a complaint brought by a non-client. This is because the ability of WM Legal to satisfactorily investigate and resolve such matters is limited and complaints of this nature are often better suited to the disciplinary processes maintained by the Bar Standards Board. Therefore, WM Legal will make an initial assessment of the complaint and if they feel that the issues raised cannot be satisfactorily resolved through the WM Legal complaints process, they will refer you to the Bar Standards Board at:

Bar Standards Board
Professional Conduct Department
289-293 High Holborn
London WC1V 7HZ
Telephone number: 0207 6111 444
Website: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Notification of insurers

16. Any complaint that involves negligence or a potential claim against professional indemnity insurance is brought to the attention of the insurers as soon as possible by the barrister.