Graham Watson (1996)

Graham specialises in civil disputes. He has over 15 years experience in front of the civil courts and employment tribunals.  He has acted for a wide range of clients and addressing a wide variety of problems.

As part of his practice, he has represented companies, partnerships, health trusts, and local authorities.  He is also instructed regularly by the Fire Service, Ambulance Trust and Police Force.  At an individual level, Graham acts for employees, contractors, partners and directors.

Graham is a strong advocate and has developed a busy appellate practice.  He recommends his early involvement in any proceedings (threatened or issued), and enjoys advising on the tactics and approach to litigation and settlement.

Graham is regularly praised for his relationship with clients.  He works on a nationwide basis, and will often appear in London, Manchester and beyond to ensure continuity of service.

Graham is direct access qualified, and can be instructed directly by individuals and organisations.  He has recently undertaken the latest update training from the Bar Council.

Employment

Graham has been a leading employment practitioner for a number of years and is Head of Clerksroom Employment Group.  He is regularly recommended in the legal directories (please see “feedback” tab), and has been involved in a number of appellate cases, (please see “cases” tab)

Graham advises right across the spectrum of employment work from TUPE and Equal Pay to Victimisation and Unfair Dismissal.  He has acted in a number of high profile and long running pieces of whistleblowing litigation.

He has a particular specialism in contractually-based work such as wrongful dismissal or restraint of trade claims, which dovetail with his pure contractual work set out below.

Inquests & Inquiries

Graham retains a strong following in inquest work and enjoys acting in these cases.   He has also appeared as an advocate in major public inquiries

Civil

Graham advises and represents clients across several areas of civil dispute, but in particular

• TOLATA claims
• Building disputes
• Contractual disputes
• Inheritance disputes
   

Mediation

Graham advises and supports clients at mediation hearings in all types of civil dispute.

Please click link to see Graham's mediation profile .

Personal

When he is not being a barrister, Graham is learning to box, and spends a lot of time on the floor of a gym in Exeter. In other reckless pursuits he continues to surf, a habit he picked up when living in Australia many years ago.

Details regarding our approach to fees can be found at the following link:  http://www.clerksroom.com/content-html?cid=336

SERVICES:

Please see “profile” tab for description of the legal services provided by this barrister.

We aim to complete and return all paperwork within 14 days (2 weeks) of receipt if no specific deadline is provided. We can work to much faster timescales if requested or we can agree a specific target date for each individual circumstance. We will always advise at the outset if counsel is unable to meet any deadline.

Each barrister has a standard hourly rate for their work. The individual hourly rate can be agreed when instructions are acknowledged if preferred. We welcome early discussion as to the suitability of a specific barrister for a specific case. The right barrister will have the relevant expertise to deal with the case but will not be too junior, or too senior depending on the complexities.

We aim to allocate all cases to the correct level of experience & seniority which we believe will prove most to be the most cost effective solution for our clients.

If, due to urgency, we allocate paperwork to a more senior member of Clerksroom, we will charge the appropriate hourly rate for the work, not for the barrister. We welcome early discussion to ensure the correct fee is applied to the case at the outset.

REDRESS:

All our barristers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) and hold a current practising certificate, details can be found at the following link Barristers’ Register

Complaints information

If you are not satisfied with the service provided, you can make a complaint to Chambers. Information on the chambers’ complaints procedure is available at the following link: http://www.clerksroom.com/content-html?cid=416

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from my chambers, you can make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman. You must contact the Legal Ombudsman either within 6 months following the conclusion of our handling your complaint, within 6 years from the date of the act/omission, or 3 years from the date that you should reasonably have known there were grounds for complaint (if the act/omission took place before the 6 October 2010 or was more than six years ago).

The Legal Ombudsman’s details are as follows:

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6806
Wolverhampton
WV1 9WJ
Tel: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Web: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

The Bar Standards Board regulates barristers and specialised legal services businesses in England and Wales, and would like to ask you about the information you found on your legal services provider’s website. Your response will help to inform future changes in this area.   

This survey should take 5-10 minutes to complete. Your responses will be kept anonymous and confidential, not shared with your legal services provider and only used for research purposes.

If you complete this survey and provide the Bar Standards Board with your e-mail address, you will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Amazon voucher.

Privacy Notice

I will process your data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 

It is necessary for me to process your data in order for me to provide you with legal services.

I may also be required to share you data with others, for example courts or tribunals, your solicitors, or other legal representatives.

I will retain your personal data for no longer than is necessary. Once your case has concluded and the fees paid, I shall only retain your personal data for the following purposes:
 

• my legal and professional obligation (by the Bar Code of Conduct and by HMRC) to keep records of my cases
   
• to check for conflicts of interest that may arise in the future
   
• for use in addressing complaints, defending legal proceedings or progressing fee disputes
   
• to refer back to in future cases which raise similar legal, factual or procedural issues

This means that I will retain your personal data for a period of upto 12 years.

Your rights

You have the right to withdraw your consent to my processing of your personal data at any time.

Your may request a copy of your personal data that is being processed by me.

You may request rectification of your personal data where there are inaccuracies.

You have the right to request that your personal data is erased in certain circumstances.

Security

I take appropriate physical and technical procedures to safeguard your personal data.

Complaints

If you have any questions about how I process your personal data, or the contents of this notice, please email me at watson@clerksroom.com

You have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you believe I have not handled your request in an appropriate manner.