Legal, Regulatory and Privacy Information
Last updated: 18 September 2026
This page explains Barristerly’s legal and regulatory status and how Barristerly Ltd collects, uses, shares and protects personal information.
Part 1: Legal and Regulatory Information
1. About Barristerly
Barristerly is operated by Barristerly Ltd, a company registered in Scotland with company number SC902379.
Registered office:
4/22 London Street
Edinburgh
EH3 6NA
Email: info@barristerly.co.uk
Barristerly is an independent booking and introduction service connecting clients with participating independent Public Access barristers.
Barristerly is not a firm of solicitors, a barristers’ chambers or a provider of legal advice. Barristerly does not conduct litigation or represent clients in legal proceedings.
Legal advice is provided by the independent barrister whom the client instructs through the service.
2. Participating barristers
Participating barristers are independent self-employed legal professionals authorised to practise in England and Wales.
A barrister providing advice through Barristerly must hold:
a current practising certificate;
the appropriate Public Access authorisation; and
professional indemnity insurance as required by their regulator.
Barristers practising in England and Wales are regulated by the Bar Standards Board. A barrister’s practising status can be checked through the Bar Standards Board’s Barristers’ Register.
Each participating barrister remains personally responsible for:
deciding whether an instruction can be accepted;
undertaking conflict and suitability checks;
complying with the Bar Standards Board Handbook;
acting independently and in the client’s best interests;
providing legal advice with appropriate professional care;
issuing their client care letter and fee note;
protecting confidentiality and legal professional privilege; and
operating their own complaints procedure.
Barristerly does not control or influence the professional advice provided by a barrister.
3. The services available
Barristerly offers a fixed-fee consultation.
One Hour with a Barrister session
This service is intended for advice your position that can be considered without reviewing documents.
The client provides a short factual summary and identifies the question to be answered. The service includes brief advance consideration of that information and an online consultation of up to 60 minutes.
It includes a short next next steps note at the conclusion of the session
The exact scope of the work will be confirmed in the barrister’s client care letter.
The applicable prices, payment arrangements, cancellation terms and rebooking provisions are contained in our Booking Terms and Conditions.
4. Provisional bookings and acceptance
Selecting an appointment does not mean that a barrister has accepted the instruction.
Every request remains subject to:
the barrister’s availability;
conflict-of-interest checks;
the barrister’s professional competence;
Public Access suitability;
the scope and complexity of the enquiry; and
whether the work can be undertaken properly within the selected service.
A barrister–client relationship is created only when the barrister expressly accepts the instruction and the client accepts the barrister’s client care terms.
5. Payment and client money
Payment for legal services is made directly to the instructed barrister or their chambers using the payment arrangements specified in the barrister’s fee note.
Barristerly does not receive or hold client money and does not operate a client account.
Any refund due for a legal service will ordinarily be arranged by the barrister or chambers that received the payment.
6. Additional legal work
Neither Barristerly service includes ongoing responsibility for the client’s case.
If additional work is required, the client may discuss it directly with the barrister. The barrister is free to accept or decline any additional instruction.
The scope, fee and timescale for additional work must be agreed separately in advance.
The client is under no obligation to purchase further legal services.
7. Deadlines and urgent matters
Requesting or reserving an appointment does not:
stop a limitation period;
extend a court or tribunal deadline;
excuse compliance with an order;
adjourn a hearing; or
place responsibility for the matter upon Barristerly.
Clients must identify all relevant deadlines in the booking form.
Unless and until a barrister expressly accepts responsibility for a particular step in writing, the client remains responsible for protecting their legal position, complying with deadlines and attending any hearing.
Barristerly cannot guarantee that an urgent instruction will be accepted or that a barrister will be available before a particular deadline.
8. Complaints
A complaint about Barristerly’s booking or administrative service should be sent to:
Email: info@barristerly.co.uk
A complaint about legal advice, professional conduct or the service supplied by a barrister must first be made under the barrister’s own complaints procedure. That procedure will be explained in the barrister’s client care letter.
An eligible complaint may subsequently be referred to the Legal Ombudsman, subject to its rules and time limits.
Concerns about a barrister’s professional conduct may, where appropriate, be raised with the Bar Standards Board.
An unfavourable opinion or legal outcome does not, by itself, mean that the service was defective.
9. Equality and accessibility
Barristerly aims to provide access to its booking service without unlawful discrimination.
If you require a reasonable adjustment to use the service, please contact info@barristerly.co.uk. Barristerly will consider the request and, where appropriate, discuss it with the proposed barrister.
10. Booking terms
Use of the booking service is governed by Barristerly’s Booking Terms and Conditions.
The barrister’s client care letter separately governs the legal service supplied by the barrister.
Nothing in either document excludes or restricts any statutory right that cannot lawfully be excluded.
Part 2: Privacy Notice
11. Who is responsible for your personal information?
Barristerly Ltd is the data controller for personal information it processes when operating the website and providing booking, introduction and administrative services.
Data controller: Barristerly Ltd
Company number: SC902379
Registered office: 4/22 London Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6NA
Email: info@barristerly.co.uk
The independent barrister who considers or accepts an instruction will ordinarily be a separate data controller for the personal information they process for conflict checks, professional decision-making, legal advice, regulatory compliance, complaints and record keeping.
The barrister’s chambers may also process personal information in connection with administration, conflicts, invoicing and professional record keeping.
The barrister or chambers should provide their own privacy information where required.
12. Personal information we collect
Depending on how you use the service, Barristerly may collect:
Identity and contact information
your name;
postal address;
email address;
telephone number;
the name of any business or organisation you represent; and
information about your authority to act for another person or organisation.
Conflict-check information
the names of other parties;
the names of relevant organisations;
the names of witnesses, advisers or other people involved; and
the general nature of the dispute or legal issue.
Information about your enquiry
your description of what has happened;
the question or questions you want answered;
the area of law involved;
details of existing or threatened proceedings;
relevant courts, tribunals or public authorities;
hearing dates, limitation periods and other deadlines;
the outcome you would like to achieve; and
correspondence or communications concerning the enquiry.
Documents
You should not upload or email documents unless specifically requested.
We may collect documents that you upload or otherwise provide for consideration by the proposed barrister.
Booking and administrative information
the service selected;
requested and confirmed appointment times;
booking status;
the identity of the proposed or instructed barrister;
client care and acceptance status;
payment status, although Barristerly does not process the payment itself;
cancellation or rebooking information;
correspondence with Barristerly; and
complaints or administrative enquiries.
Technical information
When you use the website, we may collect:
IP address;
browser and device information;
pages visited;
dates and times of access;
cookie identifiers;
website interaction information; and
security and diagnostic records.
Information about participating barristers
If you apply to join or participate in the Barristerly panel, we may collect:
professional contact information;
practising and regulatory information;
areas of expertise;
professional experience;
insurance information;
availability;
booking and administrative records; and
information required to operate the commercial relationship.
13. Sensitive and criminal-offence information
Legal enquiries may contain particularly sensitive information, including information about:
physical or mental health;
racial or ethnic origin;
religious or philosophical beliefs;
sex life or sexual orientation;
alleged misconduct;
criminal allegations, convictions or offences; and
legal proceedings or disputes.
Please provide only information reasonably necessary for the conflict check, suitability assessment and proposed legal service.
Where Barristerly processes special-category or criminal-offence information, it will do so only where permitted by data-protection law. This may include processing necessary for obtaining legal advice or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
14. How we obtain information
We may receive personal information:
directly from you;
from a person booking on your behalf;
through the Barristerly website;
through Acuity Scheduling or another approved booking system;
from a participating barrister or their chambers;
from correspondence relating to your booking;
from publicly available professional or regulatory sources; and
automatically through cookies and website technology.
If you provide personal information about another person, you should do so only where it is relevant and lawful.
15. Why we use personal information
Barristerly may use personal information to:
operate and secure the website;
respond to enquiries;
administer appointment requests;
identify a potentially suitable barrister;
undertake or facilitate conflict and suitability checks;
pass relevant information to the proposed barrister or their chambers;
communicate about acceptance, client care, payment status and appointments;
administer cancellations, rebookings and complaints;
maintain appropriate business, regulatory and security records;
establish, exercise or defend legal claims;
prevent fraud, misuse or security incidents;
comply with legal and regulatory obligations;
improve the operation and accessibility of the service; and
send marketing communications where permitted and requested.
Barristerly does not itself use the information to provide legal advice.
16. Lawful bases for processing
Depending on the circumstances, Barristerly relies upon one or more of the following lawful bases:
Steps before entering a contract and performance of a contract
Processing may be necessary to respond to your request, operate the booking service and perform Barristerly’s agreement with you.
Legitimate interests
Processing may be necessary for Barristerly’s legitimate interests in:
operating an effective booking and introduction service;
communicating with clients and barristers;
protecting the security and integrity of the service;
maintaining business records;
investigating complaints; and
establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.
We will consider whether those interests are overridden by your rights and interests.
Legal obligations
Processing may be necessary to comply with legal, regulatory, accounting, tax, court or law-enforcement requirements.
Consent
We may rely on consent for optional marketing communications, certain non-essential cookies or another activity where consent is the appropriate lawful basis.
You may withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before it was withdrawn.
Legal claims and legal advice
Where special-category or criminal-offence information is involved, processing may be undertaken where permitted under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, including where necessary for obtaining legal advice or establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.
17. Who we share information with
Barristerly may share relevant personal information with:
a proposed or instructed barrister;
the barrister’s chambers, clerks or authorised administrative staff;
Squarespace, which hosts the website;
Acuity Scheduling, which provides appointment-booking facilities;
email, cloud-storage, communications and information-security providers;
professional advisers, including accountants, auditors, insurers and legal advisers;
regulators, courts, tribunals, public authorities or law-enforcement bodies where required or permitted by law; and
a purchaser, investor or successor in connection with a proposed restructuring or transfer of the business, subject to appropriate confidentiality and data-protection safeguards.
We disclose only the information reasonably required for the relevant purpose.
Barristerly does not sell personal information.
18. Payments
Payment is made directly to the instructed barrister or their chambers.
Barristerly does not ordinarily collect or store payment-card or bank-account information relating to the barrister’s legal fee.
The barrister, chambers and any payment provider used by them will process payment information under their own terms and privacy arrangements.
Barristerly may retain administrative information confirming whether payment has been made, refunded or remains outstanding.
19. International transfers
Some technology providers may process personal information outside the United Kingdom.
Where personal information is transferred internationally, Barristerly will take reasonable steps to ensure that an appropriate legal safeguard applies. Depending on the destination and provider, this may include:
a UK adequacy regulation;
the United Kingdom International Data Transfer Agreement;
the United Kingdom Addendum to approved standard contractual clauses; or
another safeguard permitted by data-protection law.
Further information about the safeguards applying to a particular provider may be requested from info@barristerly.co.uk.
20. How long we keep information
Barristerly retains personal information only for as long as reasonably required for the purpose for which it was collected and to satisfy legal, regulatory, accounting and dispute-resolution requirements.
Our general retention periods are:
provisional or unsuccessful enquiry information: ordinarily up to six months after the enquiry is closed;
booking and administrative records for an accepted instruction: ordinarily six years after completion or cancellation;
documents uploaded for a Focused Case Assessment: ordinarily removed from Barristerly’s active systems within 90 days after completion, cancellation or transfer to the instructed barrister, unless longer retention is reasonably required;
complaints and dispute records: ordinarily six years after the complaint or dispute is closed;
participating-barrister records: for the duration of the relationship and ordinarily six years afterwards;
marketing information: until consent is withdrawn, you unsubscribe or the information is no longer reasonably required; and
website-security and technical records: for the period reasonably required to investigate security, performance or misuse.
Information may remain temporarily in secure backups until it is overwritten through the ordinary backup cycle.
The independent barrister or chambers may retain information for a different period in accordance with their professional, regulatory and insurance obligations.
21. Security
Barristerly takes reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against:
unauthorised access;
accidental loss;
misuse;
alteration;
disclosure; and
destruction.
Access is restricted to people who reasonably require the information for the operation of the service.
No internet-based service can guarantee absolute security. You should use the document-upload or communication method specified by Barristerly or the barrister and should not send unnecessary sensitive information.
If you believe information has been sent to the wrong person or that a security incident has occurred, contact info@barristerly.co.uk promptly.
22. Confidentiality and legal professional privilege
Information supplied before a barrister accepts the instruction will be treated with appropriate confidentiality, but providing information to Barristerly does not itself create a barrister–client relationship.
Legal professional privilege is a legal question that depends upon the circumstances. You should not assume that every communication with Barristerly is legally privileged.
Once a barrister accepts the instruction, the barrister will be responsible for their own professional duties concerning confidentiality and legal professional privilege.
23. Automated decision-making
Barristerly does not use solely automated decision-making to determine whether legal advice will be provided.
A barrister personally decides whether an instruction can be accepted and whether the selected service is suitable.
24. Marketing
Barristerly will send electronic marketing communications only where permitted by law.
You may unsubscribe at any time by using the link in a marketing message or contacting info@barristerly.co.uk.
Administrative communications concerning an enquiry, booking, cancellation, payment status or complaint are not marketing messages.
25. Cookies
The Barristerly website may use:
essential cookies required for the website and booking system to function;
security and fraud-prevention cookies;
preference and functionality cookies; and
analytics cookies used to understand how the website is used.
The embedded Acuity Scheduling service and Squarespace may also place cookies or use similar technologies.
Where consent is legally required, non-essential cookies will not be used until you have made the appropriate choice through the cookie banner or settings tool.
You can change your cookie preferences through the website’s cookie settings and may also control cookies through your browser.
Disabling some cookies may affect the operation of the website or booking system.
26. Your data-protection rights
Depending on the circumstances, you may have the right to:
be informed about how your personal information is used;
obtain access to your personal information;
correct inaccurate or incomplete information;
request deletion of information;
restrict particular processing;
object to processing based on legitimate interests;
receive certain information in a portable format;
withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and
complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
These rights are subject to legal limitations and exemptions. For example, information may need to be retained where required by law or for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
To exercise a right, contact info@barristerly.co.uk. We may need to request information sufficient to verify your identity.
27. Complaints about personal information
If you have a concern about how Barristerly has handled personal information, please contact:
Email: info@barristerly.co.uk
We will try to resolve the concern promptly.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office:
Website: ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
You may contact the Information Commissioner’s Office without first complaining to Barristerly, although the ICO may recommend giving us an opportunity to respond.
If your concern relates to processing undertaken independently by a barrister or chambers, you should also consult their privacy notice and contact them directly.
28. Information about children
Barristerly’s booking service is not intended to be used independently by anyone under 18.
A parent, guardian, litigation friend or other properly authorised adult should make any enquiry concerning a child.
Information about a child should be provided only where it is relevant and lawful to do so.
29. Third-party websites
The website may contain links to third-party websites and services.
Barristerly is not responsible for the privacy practices, security or content of an external website. You should read the relevant provider’s privacy information before supplying personal information.
30. Changes to this page
We may update this Legal, Regulatory and Privacy Information page to reflect changes in the service, technology, law or regulatory requirements.
The current version and its last-updated date will be published on this page.
Material changes affecting an existing booking will be communicated where reasonably necessary.