Complaints Procedure

International Construction Chambers | February 2026

1. Introduction

We are committed to maintaining high standards of service and professionalism, and we welcome all feedback. If you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our services, we encourage you to tell us so that we can address your concerns promptly and fairly.

2. Informal Resolution

Many concerns are best resolved informally and at an early stage.

If you would like to raise a concern informally, please contact:

  • Taner Dedezade on +44 7961 436 046, or

  • Graham Smith on +44 7795 023 532

If the matter is resolved, we will record the outcome, check that you are satisfied, and confirm this to you by email or post. You may also wish to record the outcome of any telephone discussion in writing for your own records.

3. Making a Formal Complaint

If your concern cannot be resolved informally, or you prefer not to seek informal resolution, you may submit a formal complaint in writing.

Please note:

  • We can only investigate formal complaints made by professional or lay clients of a barrister at International Construction Chambers.

  • If you are not a client and wish to complain about a barrister, you should contact the Bar Standards Board (details below).

We can normally only investigate your formal complaint if:

  • It concerns an issue that took place within the last 12 months, or

  • If the issue took place more than 12 months ago, the date when you could reasonably have known about the issue is within the last 12 months.

When making a formal complaint, please include:

  • Your name, address, email address and telephone number

  • The name of the person you are complaining about

  • A full description of the issue

  • Any documents relevant to the issue

  • What you would like to be done about it

Formal complaints should be sent to:

4. Acknowledgement and Investigation

We will, where possible, acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two days and provide details of how your complaint will be handled.

We are required to provide a written response to your complaint within eight weeks of receiving it, and we will confirm the target date when we acknowledge your complaint. If, for any reason, we are unable to provide our written response by that date, we will let you know as soon as possible, explain the reason for the delay, and give you a new date.

During our investigation, we may contact you to request further information or to clarify any aspect of your complaint.

Our written response will set out:

  • The nature and scope of the investigation

  • Our conclusions on each element of your complaint and the reasons for those conclusions

  • Where appropriate, our proposals for resolving the complaint

5. Complaints to the Legal Ombudsman

If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation, you may be able to take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, the independent complaints body for complaints about the service provided by lawyers. The Legal Ombudsman will normally only deal with complaints from clients, and usually only after the complaint has first been investigated by Chambers.

You must refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman either:

  • Within one year of the act or omission you are complaining about, or

  • Within one year of when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint

You must also normally refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving our final written response.

The Legal Ombudsman may, in certain circumstances, exercise discretion to extend these time limits if it is fair and reasonable to do so (for example, if you were prevented from meeting the time limit due to serious illness).

For more information, please contact the Legal Ombudsman:

6. Complaints to the Bar Standards Board

If you are not, or were not, the client of a barrister at International Construction Chambers, or if your complaint concerns professional misconduct or professional negligence, we may not be able to investigate your complaint formally.

In such cases, you may wish to raise your concerns with the Bar Standards Board.

Further information and an online reporting form are available on the Bar Standards Board’s website. You can also write to:

Bar Standards Board
289–293 High Holborn
London
WC1V 7JZ

7. Confidentiality

All conversations and documents relating to your complaint will be treated as confidential and will be disclosed only to the extent that is strictly necessary to investigate and respond to your complaint, or where disclosure is required by law or regulation.

If your complaint is referred to the Legal Ombudsman or the Bar Standards Board, we will usually be required to provide them with information relating to our investigation.

8. Records and Review

As part of our commitment to client care, we keep a written record of any complaints and retain documents and correspondence generated by a complaint for a period of six years.

We also review an anonymised summary of complaints on at least an annual basis, with a view to improving the services provided by Chambers.

9. Our Commitment

We value all feedback, including complaints, as it helps us to improve our services. Thank you for taking the time to raise any concerns with us.