1. My name and professional title is Sean Middleton, Barrister and I am registered with the Bar Standards Board under that name. I hold a current Bar Council practising certificate. I have professional indemnity insurance with the Bar Mutual Indemnity Fund, 90 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 4ST. My practising address and contact details are as set out on my letterhead or on my website. These terms in addition to anything agreed by telephone, email or in my covering letter form the contract between myself and (you) the client.

My professional obligations

2. Before taking an instruction, I will consider and confirm that I have sufficient experience and competence to undertake the work necessary to carry out those instructions.
3. I am a self-employed barrister, and I am in sole practice. I do not practice from a set of Chambers. I am not employed by a regulated entity (which is defined as a BSB entity or authorised (non-BSB) body). A Barristers Chambers is a practice where a collection of independent self-employed barristers share premises and administrative services. Those administrative services are provided by staff that we call clerks. My work may mean that I am not always in available or that the client is not able to contact me directly. The client may find the best way to contact me is to leave a message by telephone or by email and I will respond as soon as I am able to do so.
4. I am the only person the client is instructing, and I will be personally responsible for doing all the work needed under this arrangement. [If outsourcing is contemplated: I may engage somebody else to assist me in carrying out the client's instructions by providing support services which are critical to the delivery of that work. This is known as outsourcing. I will only outsource work where:
   1. I consider that it is in the client's interests to do so;
   2. I have not misled the client about the services I am supplying, who will carry out the work involved and the basis on which the client is being charged for the services. This may and usually will mean that I will tell the client in writing in advance, either in my letter of engagement or otherwise, what work I am proposing to outsource, to whom and on what terms;
   3. I have ensured that the person I outsource the work to is competent and capable and is under the same duties to the client as I am in respect of confidentiality, data protection and any other relevant professional obligations;
   4. I have discussed with the client any concerns or queries the client have about the possibility work may be outsourced, I have not engaged anyone to whom the client have a reasonable objection and, where it is appropriate to do so, I have got the client's written consent to the proposed outsourcing arrangement.
5. As a barrister, I must follow the Bar Code of Conduct. I must also comply with the Scope of Practice and Authorisation Rules which govern barristers. The Code of Conduct and the Scope of Practice and Authorisation Rules are contained in Parts 2 and 3 of the Bar Standards Board Handbook. I can supply the client with a copy of this Handbook on request or the client can find it on the Bar Standards Board website at: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/regulatory-requirements/bsb-handbook/
6. If I have accepted the client's instructions, the only circumstances in which I can cease to act for the client and return the client's instructions are set out in rules C25 and C26 in the Code of Conduct. These include where I am prevented from completing work I have agreed to do by reason of my professional duties or where I have conflicting professional obligations. In these circumstances:
   1. I will either obtain the client's consent to my ceasing to act and returning the client's instructions or I will clearly explain to the client the reasons for doing so;
   2. I will not pass the client's instructions on to another person without obtaining the client's consent;
   3. If I am unable to carry out work, I have agreed to do due to a clash of professional commitments I will warn the client as soon as possible. If that is so I will suggest the name of another barrister within my Chambers (of a suitable level of seniority and expertise) who is willing to accept the client's case under the same terms as this agreement. The client would then need to decide whether the client want to instruct that barrister. If there is not a suitable barrister within my Chambers, or if the client does me to continue working on their case, I will suggest how the client may contact barristers from other Chambers who may be able to take on the client's instructions.
7. My Code of Conduct requires me to consider whether a solicitor needs to be instructed in the client's own interests or the interests of justice. If there comes a point at which I consider the client need a solicitor I will no longer be able to act for the client without the involvement of a solicitor. If I foresee that situation arising, I will give the client as much notice as possible.

The basis on which I carry out professional work

8. Barristers can advise on the law, draft documents for their client or send letters on their behalf and represent them before courts or other tribunals or in settlement discussions. Barristers do not handle client money or undertake the management or general conduct of a client's affairs. The Bar Standards Board's Guidance for Lay Clients gives more information about the sort of work that barristers do and the client's relationship with the client's barrister. I can provide the client with a copy of the Guidance for Lay Clients on request.
9. The work and the fee I will charge are set out in the covering letter of engagement. If the client wishes to instruct me to do further work and I agree to do it there will need to be another letter of engagement between us or an extension letter. Sometimes extra work is agreed verbally or by email where it is impractical to prepare an extension care letter. In such cases any work further work will be deemed to be part of this care letter. The terms set out in this attachment will, unless otherwise agreed, apply to any other work the client instruct me to carry out in the future.
10. I am authorised by the Bar Council to conduct litigation. However, I have not agreed to conduct the client's litigation, and I cannot handle money on the client's behalf. That means if the client's case involves proceedings before any court in England and Wales, and unless we specifically agree otherwise in writing:
    1. The client will have conduct of the client's case as a litigant-in-person;
    2. I am not undertaking the general management of the client's case or taking on any arranging role in respect of the case;
    3. I cannot be expected to perform the functions of a solicitor or other person who is authorised to conduct litigation. That means I will not, for example, do any of the following: issue proceedings; acknowledge service of proceedings; serve formal documents; go on the court record or give my Chambers' address as the address for service; fulfil limitation obligations, disclosure obligations or other obligations arising out of or related to the conduct of litigation.
    4. The client must be able to do whatever is necessary for the general management of the client's case and the client must be able to perform the functions, with appropriate help, if necessary, that a solicitor or other authorised litigator would normally carry out when conducting litigation.
11. I require my fee to be paid in advance and by signing this letter the client have agreed to do, and it is a condition of our arrangement that I cannot do any work for the client until that payment has been made. For the avoidance of doubt, therefore, I am not instructed by the client until I have received from the client a signed copy of the letter of engagement and, if payment has been required in advance, that payment has been received by me. The exception is if we have agreed a written payment arrangement.

Risk

12. While I will represent a client to the best of professional ability, I cannot any guarantee as to the success or outcome of a case/matter. This will mean that even if I express a positive view as to the merits of a case it is not to be taken as a guarantee. Neither is my entire fee or any part of it risk-based. Kindly note that I do not do contingency fee-based work (CFA).

Interest on unpaid fees and recovery

13. Interest will accrue on any overdue fees at a fixed rate of 10% per annum from the due date for payment, as agreed in this care letter or any subsequent written agreement.
14. In the event of non-payment, the client agrees to indemnify me for any legal and administrative costs reasonably incurred in the recovery of overdue fees, including interest and enforcement expenses. Where litigation is necessary, I may seek recovery of such costs on the indemnity basis. Part-payments will be applied first to interest and recovery costs, then to principal.
15. Please note that failure to meet payment obligations may result in external debt collection, which could affect the client's credit rating

Emails and communication

16. Correspondence should be by email and documents should be sent electronically by email or via a download service if the size prohibits attaching the document to an email.
17. Text messages and WhatsApp messaging is not acceptable forms of formal communication, and I take no responsibility for information sent this way and it is quite possible that such messages may not be seen and/or responded to.

Confidentiality and documents

18. I will use the information the client provides me with for the purposes of carrying out the client's instructions, providing legal services to the client and in order to maintain client records and produce management data. Insofar as I obtain personal data from the client I will handle it in accordance with my Privacy Notice, which is [enclosed with this letter / available at [link]]. I will comply with my professional duty to keep that information confidential and any legal duties I have in relation to that information (such as under the General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018). I will only disclose the information the client give me if:
    1. the client consent to me doing so;
    2. it is necessary for me to do so in order to carry out the client's instructions (for example, providing information to a court or another party to a case)
    3. it is already in the public domain; or
    4. I am under a legal or professional obligation or entitlement to do so.
19. The client agrees that:
    1. I am entitled to keep any documents the client give me for my own professional records and/or make copies of those documents.
    2. I will NOT retain any copies of paper documents the client give me. Documents are scanned and then destroyed. If any of the documents contain personal data for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation, I will destroy them after any need to retain them has passed.
    3. The client will provide me with copies of documents rather than originals. In the event that a document is not capable of being copied the client will contact my clerks to make arrangements for the delivery and safe return of the document.
    4. I am not obliged to return documents to the client and therefore the client should keep copies of the documents that the client provide me with.
    5. If I need to make copies of documents that the client supply me with for any reason or I agree to copy documents for the client I may charge the client a reasonable amount for doing so.
20. In certain circumstances, the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 require me to obtain evidence to verify the identity of my clients and people related to them (such as beneficial owners). If this applies in the client's case, I will ask the client to provide the necessary evidence and I will be obliged to keep copies of it for at least five years.

Applicable law

21. This contract and any disputes relating to it will be governed by the law of England and Wales.

Right to cancel

22. Under certain circumstances, you have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
23. You have the right to cancel if this contract is concluded:
    • "Off-premises". This means we have agreed what I will do by having a face-to-face discussion (which may have been with me or my clerk) in a place other than my chambers (this could have been at your home, workplace or at court); or
    • "At a distance". This means we have agreed what I will do for you by e-mail, post or a website, without a face-to-face discussion with me or my clerk.

If applicable, the cancelation period will expire after 14 days from the day on which the contract is agreed by us.

• To exercise any right to cancel, you must inform me of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, or e-mail to the contact details provided on my letterhead or below.). You may use the attached model cancellation form, but it is not obligatory.
• To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.

Effects of cancellation

24. If the contract is cancelled, I will reimburse to the client all payments received from them, less any fee done for completed work or preparation.
25. I will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which I was informed about your decision to cancel this contract.
26. I will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as the client used for the initial transaction, unless they have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, they will not incur any fees as a result of the reimbursement.

Circumstances where your Waive your right to Cancel

27. The client agrees that they specifically waive their statutory right to cancel any agreement or contract in the following circumstances:
    1. I am asked to do work on an urgent basis
    2. There is less than 14 days between the date on which you signed this care letter and the work becomes due.
    3. They specifically require me to start work before the 14 day cooling off period has expired

Understanding Cancellations, postponements and refresher

28. It is important that the client understands that once they have paid me that there is a binding contract between us. It is also important that they understand that the nature of the work I do for them is time based so essentially they are booking and paying for an allotment of time which If for any reason, they elect to cancel their instruction to me then:
    1. I am entitled to keep an appropriate amount of money towards work done which will include the reading of papers, preparation, telephone calls, emails etc. This amount will be based on my hourly rate as stated above.
    2. If a Court date does not go ahead for any reason at all and I receive less than 14 days' notice that the hearing is cancelled, then it will be deemed that the client has have booked me for that time and no refund will be due to them.
    3. If a matter goes on longer than the days allocated for the hearing, then a refresher fee will become due and payable for each day by which the hearing is extended.
    4. If the matter/case is postponed until another day sometime after I have prepared for the hearing, then I will be entitled to ask for a refresher fee in preparation before going to Court on the return day.
    5. Where additional works becomes necessary and I must undertake such work that could not have been foreseen or the client did not tell me about, then such work will be based on my hourly rate as stated above and a schedule of additional work will be presented with a Fee Note (Invoice) on completion.
    6. If I am requested to begin the performance of services during the cancellation period, the client shall pay me an amount which is in proportion to what has been performed until they have communicated to me they wish to cancel the contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.
    7. My hourly rate as will be applied against the number of hours already spent before the client requested that I stop work. The client will therefore be entitled to any amount remaining once this amount has been offset against the fee paid for the work done and court time, time booked with the 14-day period

Cancellation

29. The client's right to cancel is explained above under "Right to Cancel". For clarity, any cancellation must be communicated and confirmed in writing. An email is acceptable and should be sent to: sgm@middletoncounsel.com. The client will lose any right to cancel this contract if the services have been fully performed at the client's express request within the cancellation period (in which case I will ask the client to confirm that they understand this and agree to waive the cancellation right).The client will lose any right to cancel this contract if the services have been fully performed at the client's express request within the cancellation period (in which case I will ask the client to confirm that the client understand the client will lose the client's right to cancel).

Fees

30. My fees for this work are agreed up front, where no specific hourly rate is agreed the my default hourly rate applies for county Court or high court work (as of 2025) this is 350+VAT p.h. and 550 p.h. respectively this may change and current rates are set out on my https://middletoncounsel.com/transparency/ page.
31. I reserve the right to charge a higher rate or fixed fee when the amount of work or the complexity of a particular case demands more work or is appropriate under the circumstances, the guideline being a "fair fee for the work done".
32. Under these terms, the client is responsible for paying the fees set out in my cover letter.

Breaches, invalid or unenforceable clauses

33. Notwithstanding any provisions herein, in the event of any party being in breach of any of the terms of this Agreement, and if such a breach occurs, the client shall not be entitled to cancel this Agreement on the basis of that breach, and all outstanding amounts shall become due and payable immediately, without further notice. If any provision of this Agreement shall prove to be or become invalid or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the remaining provisions of this Agreement which shall remain in full force and effect.
34. If any provision of this Agreement shall prove to be or become invalid or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect the remaining provisions of this Agreement which shall remain in full force and effect.

Document Types

35. I only work with documents in the following formats:
    1. Word (.doc or .docx)
    2. Excel (xlsx or csv)
    3. Text (.txt or .rtf)
    4. PDF
    5. Common images and Video (jpg/jpeg. Png. Mp3 and mp4
36. I CANNOT OPEN .Msg files or other email and will not deal with unknow formats.
37. It is the client's responsibility to provide me with clear and proper documents.

Legal Aid

38. It is possible that the client may be eligible for public funding or "legal aid" as it is usually referred to. However, as a barrister I cannot do legal aid work unless I have been instructed by a solicitor. If the client wants to talk to someone in more detail about getting legal aid, the client should contact a solicitor who does legal aid work. They will be able to advise the client about legal aid arrangements relating to civil cases e.g. where the client are in dispute with another individual or organisation and criminal cases e.g. where a crime may have been committed.
39. The client can find out more information on the www.gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/community-legal-advice
40. If the client wishes to be assessed for legal aid for a civil case, the client can contact Community Legal Advice. This is a service which provides advice about family, debt, benefits, housing, education or employment problems. The client can call them on: 0845 345 4345.
41. If the client does not qualify for legal aid, the client might like to consider whether the client has any insurance policies that might cover the client's legal fees, or if the fees may be paid by someone else, for example a trade union.
42. I can advise and represent the client if:
    1. the client makes an informed decision not to seek public funding;
    2. the client makes a public funding application, e.g. the client has applied to get legal aid to help fund the client's case, that is rejected;
    3. the client does not wish to take up an offer of public funding (perhaps because the client consider that the level of contribution the client will be required to make is too much).

Remote bookings

43. Where a client books and pays for a consultation via a link provided or the website these terms and conditions will apply and by booking my services electronically the client agrees to be bound by these terms
44. Where the booking is made within a 14-day period and the from the date of payment it will be deemed that the client considers the work urgent and waives the right to cancel the booking

Complaints

45. I hope the client will be happy with the professional services I provide. However, if the client is not satisfied, the client should first refer the matter either to me and I will send the client a copy of my complaints procedure.
46. If the client is not happy with my reply, then the client can contact the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman is a free, impartial and independent service set up by the Government which deals with complaints about the service the client have received.
47. The client must complain to the Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final response to the client's complaint from myself (provided the response specifically notifies the client of the client's right to complain to the Ombudsman and of the six-month time limit). A complaint to the Ombudsman must also be made not more than six years after the act or omission complained about or not more than three years from the date when the client should reasonably have known that there were grounds for complaint.
48. If the client has agreed to have a solicitor act for the client in this matter on my advice or for any other reason the client must complain via the client's solicitor, first.
49. For further details about how to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, please contact the Legal Ombudsman directly at