Legal information

Legal status

Essex Court Chambers is not a firm or a partnership but rather an unincorporated association of self-employed sole practitioners who have developed personal reputations which are complemented by the solid profile and recognised sound management of the set to which they have chosen to be members.

Barristers at Essex Court Chambers are in independent practice at the Bar and each is registered with the Bar Standards Board of England and Wales. Details of the barristers’ registration with the Bar Standards Board are available on the Bar Standards Board website, which shows who has a current practising certificate and details of any disciplinary findings. Details of the barristers’ registration for VAT are available from the clerks.

Barristers at Essex Court Chambers are subject to the Code of Conduct as set out in Part 2 of the Bar Standards Board Handbook.

Professional indemnity insurance

All practising barristers at Essex Court Chambers maintain, as a minimum, professional liability insurance provided by the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund, managed by the Bar Mutual Management Company, 90 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 4ST.   Coverage is worldwide, subject to the terms of cover of the Bar Mutual.

Further information, if required, on the insurance position of an individual barrister can be obtained from the clerks.

Who can instruct

The barristers at Essex Court Chambers, as individual lawyers, may only act on a specific matter or case if instructed to do so by one of the following: a solicitor, a qualified foreign lawyer, or an authorised licensed access client who has been approved under the Bar Standards Board’s Licensed Access Recognition Regulations, and from whom instructions are accepted on the basis of the Licensed Access Terms of Work.

For further information please contact the clerks or see the Bar Council web site.

Public Access Work

Members of Essex Court Chambers do not ordinarily conduct public access work, if you have a question about public access work please contact the clerks.