Bar Transparency Statement

  1. Please note that any professional, licensed access and/or potential lay client contact may contact Julian Harris (“the barrister”), a barrister regulated by The Bar Standards Board (membership number 26136) and the proprietor of motoringjustice.co.uk, directly by telephone or email, to obtain a quotation for legal services. He is insured to provide legal services by The Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund: membership number5005/075.

    His contact details are provided on this website.

    He was formerly a member of a large – fifty-four member – set of barrister’s chambers in the West Midlands. Of those fifty-four members, he was the fourth most senior. He is now a sole practitioner specialising in road traffic work. He does not provide legal services under any form of legal aid representation order and provides such services purely on a private client basis.

    His contact details (address, email address and contact number) are given on the website, motoringjustice.co.uk. He will always – time permitting – give a few minutes free advise, subject to legal disclaimer, over the telephone without obligation. He undertakes work, following the taking of instructions, on the basis of The Bar Council’s standard contractual terms.

  2. His pricing model for the legal services offered is “fixed fee”. The fees quoted below are inclusive of VAT (personal registered number 861 1367 33). They are as follows:

    A. Non-litigation general care and attention (before first hearing) = £1800, to include:

    1. Liaison with the client, police & CPS by telephone, email, etc., (as & when required);

    2. Obtaining as much police & CPS evidential material as can be obtained, before a first court hearing;

    3. Taking instructions upon “2” above;

    4. Advice concerning defence evidence &

    5. Unlimited telephone conference calls with client, at all reasonable times, as and when required by the client.

    B. First hearing = £1920, to include:

    1. All legal research required before the hearing;

    2. All “out of court” representations to the court clerk and prosecutor;

    3. Taking further instructions at court in the light of any further information made available;

    4. Perfecting (following the taking of face-to-face instructions) a “Preparation for Effective Trial” (PET) form if needed &

    5. Advocacy as required.

    C. Non-litigation general care and attention (after first hearing) = £2340, to include:

    1. Liaison with client/police/ court & CPS by ‘phone, email, letter, etc., (within his professional capacity), throughout these magistrate’s court proceedings only;

    2. Drafting letters, etc., for client’s approval and his/her postal dispatch;

    3. Facilitating the obtaining of CPS evidence, plus advise on such evidence as & when required;

    4. Taking client’s full instructions upon “3” above;

    5. Further advising client upon possible defence evidence &

    6. Continuing unlimited ‘phone conference calls with client, as & when required.

    D. Trial (per day) = £2640, to include:

    1. All legal research before the hearing;

    2. Preparation for examination in chief/cross examination;

    3. Preparation of closing speech;

    4. Taking client’s continuing further instructions at court;

    5. All “out of court” representations to prosecutor & clerk;

    6. Examination in chief/cross-examination of witnesses &

    7. Any closing speech and, possible submission of “no case” to answer.

    Thus, in the normal course of events, that is the entering at court of a “Not Guilty” plea, followed by a trial, then A. B. C. & D. above will always be applicable. However, there may be occasions when E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M. & N. below may become applicable if a client so requires:

    E. Any other hearing = £1920;

    F. Draft Defence Statement £480 (minimum fee);

    G. Draft Section 8 Application £480 (minimum fee);

    H. Draft “Skeleton Argument” £720 (minimum fee);

    I. Draft Notice of Appeal £480;

    J. Draft Notice withdrawing Appeal £180;

    K. Draft application to adjourn trial £480;

    L. Draft response to trial adjournment application £480;

    M. Draft “Bad Character” response £240 &

    N. Draft “Bad Character” application £480.

    Fuller details of what is covered by items E. to N. above can be provide orally at any pre-contract conference call, or post contract upon request.

    Neither hotel nor travel expenses are charged.

    Please note that if an expert should be instructed then that expert will invoice the professional, licensed access and/or lay client directly. The contract for the provision of such expert services – and payment for the same – is solely the responsibility of the professional, licensed access client and/or lay client.

  3. The area of legal practice most commonly provided by the barrister, is “summary” only, this is to say magistrates court defence.

  4. The most commonly provided legal service, is road traffic defence: in particular cases involving allegations of drink driving, drug driving and failing to provide an evidential sample.

  5. The factors which may influence the timescales of “5”above are court availability and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) capacity, bearing in mind the enormous work pressure habitually placed upon the CPS, to comply with court directions.

  6. Please note that any professional, licensed access and/or lay client who gives formal instructions has an absolute and unfettered right, to make complaint about any aspect of the legal service provided, if she/he is dissatisfied with the same.

    In the first instance the complaint should be raised (preferably in writing), with the barrister in accordance with the in-house complaint’s procedure [ link here – not yet drafted ]. If the complaint cannot be settled amicably in-house, then the complaint may be pursued with the Legal Ombudsman (“the LeO”), providing this is done within certain timescales. Additionally, if such complaint has not been dealt with within eight weeks, then the complaint may be referred to the as LeO as of right.

    The Legal Ombudsman may be written to at:

    The Legal Ombudsman

    PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton.

    WV1 9WJ

    Telephone number: 0330 555 0333 or

    Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

    More information about the Legal Ombudsman is available on agencies website:

    https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/

    Complaint must be made to the Legal Ombudsman either within six years of your barrister’s actions/failure to act, or no later than three years after you should reasonably have known there were grounds to complain. You must also complain to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving your barrister’s final response to your complaint.

    The link to the decision data on the LeO’s website is

    https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/

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

    A link https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/for-barristers.html is also provided to the Barristers’ Register page on the Bar Standards Boards website. The Register shows (i) who has a current practicing certificate, and (ii) whether a barrister has any disciplinary findings, which are published on the Barristers’ Register in accordance with Bar Standards Board policy.

  7. The services offered by the barrister are primarily direct “Public Access”; that is to say, the provision of legal services to an individual client without the intervention of a third-party solicitor. A link to that part of the Bar Standard Boards website dealing with “Public Access” guidance for lay clients, can be accessed here.
    https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/for-the-public/finding-and-using-a-barrister/how-to-instruct-a-barrister/public-access-guidance-for-lay-clients.html

  8. It may be the case that legal insurance cover is held or such cover is sought. The “Which?” organisation has a guide to legal insurance on its website which you can link to here.
    https://www.which.co.uk/money/insurance/legal-expenses-insurance/guides
    If you are considering applying for legal aid, then it may be useful for you to check the legal aid eligibility calculator on the gov.uk website; you will find the link here.
    https://www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid
    Please note, however, that no barrister can accept instructions to carry out legal aid work, under a Representation Order, unless instructed by a solicitor.
    The services offered here by the barrister via this website, are offered purely on a private client basis: legal aid work is not accepted.

  9. Barristers are not permitted to hold client money, save for money paid by way of the specific legal service provided; i.e. payment of the fee.

    It is confirmed that no third party services are utilised for the making of payment to or from clients.

  10. The most commonly provided legal services are set out at “4” above.

    As regards the timescale from police investigation to charge, this depends upon the nature of the case and the police force area. Sometimes, where a blood analysis is being carried out, the decision to charge may take up to six months from the date at which a blood sample was taken at a police station.

    However, generally speaking, in a case in which breath was taken or it is alleged that a suspect failed to provide an evidential sample of breath, blood or urine, then a charge will follow almost immediately; that is to say, the suspect/defendant will be charged and bailed from the police station directly to a court first hearing date.

    Following any first hearing at which a defendant pleads “Not Guilty”, then the case will be adjourned for trial. Such trial date is rarely less than three to four months after first hearing, but can in some parts of the country, be over twelve months.

    Occasionally, a court may order a further hearing (often described as a “case Management Hearing”), after the first hearing. This practice seems to vary from county to county but is always resisted by the barrister if at all possible.

  11. A fact sheet detailing all of the above can be provided in alternative format if required; e.g. hard copy by normal post (and free of any postal charge) or via email.