Instructing advocates
Our Clerking team is usually the first port of call for most enquiries. They provide a crucial link between you and our Advocates. Our team of 6 is headed by Alan Moffat. Alan’s team is noted for being “professional”, “accommodating” and “exceptionally helpful”. The team always endeavour to apply the principles of honesty, openness, accessibility and flexibility. They are recognised for being “responsive and can give fairly candid advice about who is the right advocate to go to.” Our aim is to provide all of our existing and future clients with a highly responsive and dedicated service tailored to finding the right advocate to meet your particular needs.
Our team are qualified to discuss all aspects of instructing our members and understand the increasing pressure that you work under and so our Clerking team are driven by your needs and deadlines. Our team can:
- make recommendations for the most appropriate advocate(s) for your case
- advise on advocate’s availability
- agree timescales for instructions
- provide fee estimates and agree costs
- assist getting instructions to Counsel
- arrange video and telephone conferencing, whether at our consultation facilities or remotely
Whenever they are instructed, our members are committed to ensuring the information they receive is treated confidentially and securely. In each instance, the relevant data controller is the Member of Faculty instructed to act. Our members adhere to the Faculty of Advocates policy on data privacy and protection which can be found on the Faculty of Advocates website here. This policy applies to all Members of the Faculty of Advocates, unless a particular Member has opted out and adopted their own policy. Our clerks can advise and assist in relation to any queries you may have during the instructing of an advocate.
More information about instructing advocates, including the rules governing who can instruct, the Advocates Guide to Professional Conduct and Scheme for and Recovering of Counsel’s Fees can be found on the Faculty of Advocates website here. If you are not a solicitor or member of the Association of Commercial Attorneys and are thinking about direct instructions, please visit our Direct Access page here.
Feedback and complaints
If you have any questions about Ampersand, the services we offer or would like to give us feedback on any aspect of the service we provide please contact Alan Moffat.
Ampersand prides itself on providing a first-class service to its clients at all times. However, if you believe that our professionalism has fallen short and wish to complain, you are invited to advise us as soon as possible. Any complaints should be directed to our head clerk, Alan Moffat, who will deal with your complaint in a strictly confidential matter. He will investigate the issue and provide you with a detailed response with a view to resolving the complaint.
If you remain unsatisfied, you can raise the matter with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission.
