1. The fixed fee
The fixed fee is £50.00 plus VAT.
Payment of the fee must be made by the Solicitor within fourteen days of receipt of Counsel's fee note. In the event of non payment or late payment, Counsel may refer the matter to the Committee of DASLS to take up with the Solicitor.
2. Entitlement
A Solicitor wishing to take advantage of the scheme is entitled to receive from Counsel up to 30 minutes initial advice either in person at Chambers or over the telephone.
Solicitors are not entitled to written confirmation from Counsel of the advice given.
If Counsel is unable to advise within the half hour limit then either Counsel can refuse the instructions or negotiate an additional fee. The "cab rank" rule does not apply.
3. Procedure
At the first instance Solicitors should contact the Clerk of participating Chambers and clearly state that this is a DASLS Fixed Fee Scheme matter. They should then supply the following information :-
(i) Name of preferred Counsel
(ii) Names and addresses of all the parties
(iii) The general area of Law involved
(iv) The precise legal issue upon which advice is required
4. Conflicts
It is the responsibility of Counsel to ensure that no conflict of interest arises. For this reason it is essential that Solicitors accurately identify the parties involved.
5. Monitoring
The Practice Management Sub-Committee of Devon & Somerset Law Society wish to monitor the take up of this scheme among members.
In order to do so it is expressly agreed by all Solicitors and Counsel participating in the scheme that Clerks to Chambers are authorised to make a bi-annual statistical return to the Practice Management Sub-Committee indicating the number of Solicitors who have taken advantage of the scheme with each set of Chambers. The return will not include any information on the identity of instructing Solicitors, their clients, or Counsel advising: it will be a purely numerical return.
