The following Terms will be adopted by all members of Old Square Chambers in respect of any instructions accepted after 21st July 2026:
Instructions received prior to that date will be subject to the terms outlined in our acknowledgement letter at the time of accepting the instructions. Should you require copies of the previous Terms, please do contact fees@oldsquare.co.uk.
These Standards Contractual Terms for the Supply of Legal Services by Barristers to Authorised Persons were launched by the Bar Council in June 2026, as referenced to in Rule rC30.9c of the Bar Standards Board Handbook. These Contractual Terms were first published in 2012 and updated in 2018 and 2020. Further details as to the changes can be found in the terms themselves.
We appreciate that the standard payment terms (clause 12.4) may not be appropriate to all our clients. As such, we welcome the opportunity to enter into Service Level Agreements, as we have already with many of our clients. In addition to governing payment terms to suit your specific requirements, a protocol could be agreed in respect of rates, quality standards and additional services. Please do not hesitate to contact the Senior Clerk, William Meade should this be of interest to you.
All time spent is recorded on the LEX Diary Management System to ensure that the fees charged can be substantiated by specific work activities by the barrister. If requested, the Clerks will be able to explain further how the eventual fee was arrived at. We will render a fee note for all our work in line with the Bar Council’s Standard Contractual Terms. On privately funded cases, we expect our fees to be settled within 30 days of you receiving our invoice. You are asked to contact us should this not be acceptable to you.
We adhere to the Bar Council’s Code of Practice in respect of issue of payment reminders, progressing payment of our fees and credit control in general. Any solicitor who’s name appears on the List of Defaulting Solicitors and other Authorised Persons will be expected to pay any outstanding fees within 7 days. Further instructions will not be accepted unless the work is legally aided or advance payment is received.
The basis for fees to be charged will be agreed in advance of the hearing. Fees for court work take into account the following factors:
Normally fees for paperwork are not agreed in advance, however, if an estimate is required, the clerks (in liaison with the barrister concerned, if necessary) will provide an approximate fee. The following factors are taken into account when providing such estimates and when compiling the fee-note:
Estimated time required plus travel expenses.
