Terms and Conditions
These are the terms under which I agree to work on your case. Please read them. By signing these T&Cs you agree to be bound by them.
Terms & Conditions 2026
Hourly rate: £200/hr
DIRECT ACCESS: STANDARD RETAINER CASE
I agree to the terms below.
Signed by Client: _______________________________ Dated________________
Client’s address: ______________________________________________________
1. These are the terms under which I agree to work on your case. There are no other terms.
2. These are the terms under which I carry out the work you want me to do. If a dispute arises between us these are the terms which I will rely on for my right to be paid. By signing these terms you are agreeing to these terms.
3. The most important of these terms are these:
(a) My hourly rate will be £200/hr plus Vat unless otherwise agreed.
(b) Unless agreed otherwise, you will have to pay me before I start work.
(c) I do not give credit: if not paid, I am free to issue legal proceedings for my fees.
(d) You remain in charge of the action. The decision to pursue a certain course of action is yours and not mine. All originals of documents will stay with you.
The Work
4. I am the only person you are instructing to do the Work specified under this agreement. The ‘Work’ shall be those items of work set out in the Client Care letter or Cover letter and any new items agreed between us as your case progresses. I am a self-employed barrister and am not employed by a firm of solicitors. I practise on my own account. I am regulated by the Bar Standards Board. I have read my instructions and confirm I have the required experience and competence to do the Work.
5. If I cannot do an item of the Work in the time required I will suggest another barrister. The proposed other barrister will not begin work until you have agreed to this.
6. Sometimes there will be diary clashes or there may be some other cause why I cannot appear for you. If this happens, I will:
(a) Warn you as soon as possible.
(b) Suggest another barrister with the necessary expertise willing to accept your case under the same terms as this agreement.
(c) But the decision to instruct that barrister remains yours.
The Work I will carry out
7. The Work you are instructing me to do is set out in my cover letter or client care letter.
8. When additional work (additional to that in the Cover letter or CC letter) is needed, I will estimate the hours it will require and you can decide whether I am to do the work.
9. I will not render a new set of T&Cs or a new Cover letter for additional work. The terms of the original Cover letter will cover the additional work: the hourly rate shall remain the same. I will aim to provide an estimate of the additional hours before starting the work, but this will be an estimate and not a fixed price.
10. I have a ‘Right to Conduct Litigation.’ This means that, if you want, I can go on the court record as acting for you. In which case, all court documents would come to me and not you. But (unless we agree that I have conduct of the litigation) the default position shall be that you conduct the litigation not me.
11. I do not handle a client’s money. This means you cannot give me money ‘on account’ of future work. The only circumstances in which you pay me beforehand is where we have agreed a fixed fee and I have agreed to start work once paid.
12. Where we have not agreed a fixed fee, we will agree an hourly rate and an estimate of the hours the work will take. Eg: we agree that a witness statement will take 10 to 12 hours and cost between £2,500 to £3,000.
13. A fixed fee or an estimated fee is due for payment once you instruct me to start work.
14. I will not release an item of work until paid. Copyright in the work remains with me until paid.
Disbursements
15. The only circumstances when I am entitled to receive payment for items which are not my legal fees are for disbursements in respect of your case. These are:
(1) A planning application fee or a court fee which I incur on your behalf.
(2) An expert’s fee for a report which I may incur on your behalf.
(3) A subcontractor’s fee for any additional work: a plan, a scan, photograph etc.
16. I can file and serve documents. ‘Filing’ is the process by which your papers (the papers which embody your case) are physically placed before the court, local planning authority, or tribunal. ‘Serving’ is the process by which the same are put before the opposing party in legal proceedings.
17. If I go on the court record for you, my address becomes the address provided to the court for receipt of formal court documents sent by the court or other parties to you.
18. You are instructing me without a solicitor. So, check that you can keep:
(a) An indexed correspondence file.
(b) A file of all original documents.
(c) A file of any expert reports or plans.
The burden to keep these documents is on you, not me.
Circumstances when I will not be able to act for you
19. As a barrister, I have to abide by the Bar Standards Board’s Code of Conduct. (Available on the BSB’s website: https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/ ). The Code requires me to consider whether a solicitor needs to be instructed in your own interests. If there comes a point when I consider you need a solicitor because you cannot run the action without one, I will say so and from that point will refuse to act for you until you instruct a solicitor. If I foresee that situation arising, I will give you as much notice as possible.
20. The duty to enquire whether you may be eligible for Legal Aid is on you, not me.
21. It is unlikely that in a planning case or a property case you will be entitled to Legal Aid. However, the duty to investigate whether you are eligible for Legal Aid is on you. You can find out more information on the www.gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/legal-aid
22. The duty to investigate whether you have a policy of insurance which might pay your legal fees is on you not me. You should check your house, car or product insurance to see whether you have legal fees insurance.
23. By signing this these terms and conditions, you confirm you have been informed where you can find further information. If you choose to instruct me, you do so without the benefit of any public funding (legal aid) that may be available to you.
Cancellation
24. You can terminate this retainer at any time. However, you must pay my fees for all work done or hearings that I have agreed to do, at the time of cancellation.
Documents and consent to process personal data
25. We agree that:
(a) I will keep electronic copies (or photocopies) of all documents you provide to me for my own professional records for 7 years (Rule C129 of the BSB Handbook).
(b) You will retain all original documents.
(c) I will not retain any original documents.
26. You agree (by signing these terms) that you consent to my processing your personal data for the purpose of carrying out your instructions. You have a right to withdraw consent, but if you do so I will not be able to carry out your instructions.
General Obligations
27. All Information you give me is received in professional confidence. I will maintain the confidentiality of that Information and can only tell others of it if you consent to this (which consent I would obtain if and when needed). The exception is when the Law – in the form of a statutory or other legal requirement – obliges me to reveal the Information to governmental or other authorities (organisations, whose rules I must meet, without your consent and without telling you that I have made the disclosure).
28. This contract is governed by English law and the jurisdiction of the English courts.
Complaints
29. Please read my Complaints Policy attached to these terms & conditions.
I have read these terms and conditions and the cover letter and agree to be bound by them.
Client’s name: _______________________________
0Client’s signature: ______________________________
Date: _______________________
Second Client’s name (if applicable): _____________________________
2nd Client’s signature: __________________________________
Date: ___________________________
Cancellation Form
TO: Philip Goddard, 8 Regent Street, Rolvenden, Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 4PE
I/We ______________________ [NAME IN CAPITAL LETTERS] hereby give notice that I/We cancel the contract for the supply of the legal services namely the Work set out in Philip Goddard’s the cover letter and ordered or agreed to on ___________________________
Name of first client: __________________________________
Name of second client (if applicable): __________________________________
Address of client or clients: ___________________________________
Signature of first client : ___________________________________
Signature of 2nd client (if applicable): ____________________________________
END