About Us

4 Brick Court is the Chambers of Isabelle Watson, a long-established set of family law barristers based in the Temple, one of the main legal districts in London.

Our passion for family law, combined with our pride in being able to offer specialist Counsel with a wide range of experience in acting for all sides in public law, private law and financial remedy proceedings, brings a knowledge and tactical advantage that are often profoundly important in achieving the very best outcome for our clients.

We are a committed and welfare-based group of practitioners representing parents and children who are often in crisis. At the core of Chambers’ philosophy is a teamwork ethic underpinned by a shared commitment to achieving family and social justice. We have a robust client welfare approach.

Our casework includes some of the most serious and medically complex cases before the family courts, in which our senior members often lead our junior members.

Our Practice team is at the centre of our practices and is highly regarded. Whatever your family law matters, our practice team will gladly assist you. Please contact them on 020 7832 3200. 

 

Information for our clients and anyone considering using our services

4 Brick Court and its barristers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board.

If you are considering using our services and would like an indication of our charges, you can ask us for a fee quote. This applies equally to members of the public who prefer to go directly to a barrister via Direct Access as it does to solicitors and licensed access organisations and individuals. It should be noted, however, that quotations do not amount to acceptance of instructions.

Our most common practice areas where barristers at 4 Brick Court provide Direct Access services are listed below. If you would like to see an estimate of our charges and the key stages, please select the relevant type of proceedings below:

Financial Disputes in Divorce
Private Law Children Act Proceedings
Trusts of Land Act and Appointment  Of Trustees Act 1996
Domestic Violence

For further information and guidance regarding direct access to barristers, look at the Public Access Guidance for Lay Clients on the Bar Standards Board’s website.

 

4 Brick Court is a specialist family law chambers

We only do family law. The types of services offered at 4 Brick Court are:

i) Legal advice
ii) drafting legal documents
iii) representation and advocacy services before a court or tribunal

The following factors might influence or affect the services to be provided by the barrister:

a) the late delivery of instructions and case documentation by a client, resulting in the barrister not having sufficient time to meet timescales that might exist or prepare for the work to be undertaken.

b) the client failing to inform the barrister about work ordered by a court or deadlines to be adhered to, resulting in the barrister not having sufficient time to meet deadlines or to prepare for the work to be undertaken.

c) the availability of the client or relevant third parties.

d) the approach taken by the other side.

e) cases in which the barrister is instructed to become listed for hearing by a court at concise notice or requiring some other immediate action result in the barrister being unable to complete other work.

f) court hearings in which the barrister is involved that overrun, i.e. hearings lasting longer than the court had listed them for. For example, a case listed by the court to last one day lasts three days.

g) illness of the barrister preventing them from being able to undertake work.

h) circumstances that result in the barrister having to take a leave of absence.

 

Fees

Our most commonly used pricing models are fixed fees based on hourly rates, so we will estimate in advance the likely hours of work needed to deliver the required service – such an estimate will be made solely on the information provided by the client – to be able to assess a fixed fee. Fixed fees are popular amongst clients as they provide them with certainty, knowing in advance how much the work will cost.

An example of how our fees are calculated can be read here.

VAT at the rate of 20% is payable on top of all fees quoted.

You have the right to make a complaint. To read our Complaints Procedure, please click here.

Complainants unhappy with the outcome of any complaint may take up their complaint with the Legal Ombudsman. Please note that the Legal Ombudsman has time limits in which an objection must be raised with them. These time limits and details of how to complain to the Legal Ombudsman are explained in paragraph 10. of our Complaints Procedure.

The complete list of who has a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman is available on their website and can be viewed here.

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) regulates barristers. You can use the Barristers’ Register, an online database on the BSB website displaying details of all barristers authorised to practice in England and Wales and who have a current practising certificate. The Register also shows whether a barrister has any disciplinary findings. You can access the Barrister’s Register here.

The Legal Ombudsman is the body that looks at complaints about legal service providers. Please click here to view the Legal Ombudsman’s decisions about legal service providers.

Barristers at 4 Brick Court are regulated by the Bar Standards Board.