Hill House Chambers - Barristers Based in London:
Hill House Chambers have been recommended across our network for some time now so, as we do with many firms, we'd like to give a few insights into things that stood out to us about a firm, how that compares across the industry, and things you can do when searching for the right firm for you.
"Are you a solicitor looking for a barrister to instruct, or a member of the public looking for the right direct access barrister for your case, what should you be looking for?"
That snippet from the Hill House website is certainly a good starting point for anyone looking for legal help in these modern times. If you weren't aware - we are now quite far from the 'old days' of a high street solicitor's office where you have to go for anything legally oriented to get done. There are accountants that can help with tax law matters, budget will writing firms, paralegal services, and so on.
One of the bigget moves was when the goverment started to allow Direct Access to barristers. As Hill House Chambers puts it:
"The Direct Access (or Public Access) scheme allows members of the public to instruct an authorised barrister directly ... they are qualified to ... provide you with expert legal advice ... and represent you in court."
​We've obviously summarised their much longer description found here where you can also read about the specific matters they can help with and legal aid applications. Prior to access being available you had to pay a solicitor to hire a barrister to deal with certain court matters. So instantly this reduced the amount of time and cost for huge numbers of clients to have their case dealt with. Why it took so long to make this available to the public in the UK - who knows.
"I have barristers based in different parts of the UK and they are also more than happy to travel for work so wherever you have a hearing we can find someone for you."
This is another difference between a solicitor's firm and a barrister's chambers. A solicitor's firm will have all staff working as if it's one big company together. A chambers is more like a collective of individuals so whilst there will be a main office monitoring everything, you will typically be much more involved with the person handling your case. Does that mean a much better experience overall?
Normally we completely ignore testimonials on company websites. We ran a poll a few years back and the number of people that trusted company provided customer testimonials wasn't even in the double digits. Typically we refer, like most consumers, to the third party boards such as Google, Yelp, Yell, Trustpilot, etc. However on this occasion many of the reviews on the firm's own website and on third party boards are from peers who are also 'clients'.
"Barristers Mohsin Aslam was very professional too when he articulated case"
"Spencer's friendly demeanour and flexibility ensures the right barrister is offered even at short notice"
"Spencer Payne was very professional in how he handled the consultation"
"Spencer's friendly demeanour and flexibility ensures the right barrister is offered even at short notice"
"Spencer Payne was very professional in how he handled the consultation"
This brings us back to the cost benefits of Direct Access. Typically solicitors are not authorised to represent clients in actual court. When this is true they will hire a Barrister on your behalf. On some occasions this can mean you're paying two firms for the job one could do. So the fact this company receives praise from both direct public clients as well as other law firms that have used them to handle their own cases - is certainly notable. Hence the reason for us breaking with tradition over testimonials.
One thing we think the firm could improve on is fuller profiles for each of the barristers on the books. At the moment there are only names and the year the person qualified as a barrister. That's still very useful information though and something people typicaly want to know yet can't find out when it comes to barristers. The Law Society of England & Wales provides this information on all solicitors which is great. But the Bar Standards Board is far less consumer oriented.
A quick note on navigation. Always take care on the internet as many legal matters are now being targeted by scammers due to the large amounts of money available. Biggest things to watch for are emails about money, payments, or bank details as that should never happen. So always call the official phone number you have to check with the firm about such emails you've received.
The main website is at www.hillhousechambers.co.uk which we link to above. At the moment of writing www.hillhousechambers.com wasn't owned by anyone and other variants such as hillhousebarristers were also available. For the case types they handle this isn't too much a concern. But it's a good idea to familiarise yourself with the scam of 'phishing' and maybe read a few articles about conveyancing scams to see just how bad it can be if you're not giving enough attention to detail online.
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General Notes: Legal Aid availability changes constantly, so ask up front. If you are looking for a career with Hill House Chambers it's best to visit the website (www.hillhousechambers.co.uk) and locate the correct phone/email contact details. Any quoted here will be for potential clients. Alternating or adding words such as Hill House Chambers Barristers may bring up different background/reviews on the firm. Each firm's Law Society and/or SRA number should be on their site too.