New model for reforming complaints handling

Law Society of Scotland publishes its response to the Scottish Executive's consultation paper

News, 15 August 2005

A new model for reforming the system for complaining about solicitors has been drawn up by the Law Society of Scotland.

The model is in response to the Scottish Executive’s consultation paper “Reforming complaints handling, Building consumer confidence: Regulation of the Legal Profession in Scotland”.

The consultation, which closed on 3 August, asked for views on a wide range of issues relating to regulation, focusing on four options for changing the structure of complaints handling.

Options “A” to “D” ranged from enhancing the powers of the Scottish Legal Services
Ombudsman (A), establishing a new “gateway” with either restricted (B) or wide powers (C) to setting up a new body to handle complaints against solicitors and advocates (D).

The Society has considered all these options and has proposed “Option E”, a seven point plan which it believes would be more cost effective and efficient and less bureaucratic. The plan proposes internal improvements and enhanced external, independent oversight of the Society’s complaints handling system in partnership with the Executive. The proposals aim to improve the existing complaints handling process and allow the substantial changes already made, to bed in.

Society Chief Executive Douglas Mill said: “Following an enquiry, the Justice 1 Committee recommended in 2002 that complaints handling should be speeded up and simplified – that has been achieved.

"The Society has worked tremendously hard to implement many of the recommendations the Committee recommended and the benefits of the changes are now really having an effect and showing a much improved system.

“But just as the system has been speeded up we must not introduce change that will slow it down. Just as it has been simplified, we should not make it more bureaucratic and, if the Executive wants a community legal service, we should not undermine local practice. We must introduce reforms which work, rather than make change simply because of perception. We would encourage evolution rather than revolution.

“We believe that Option E is a positive alternative to the options put forward in the Executive’s consultation paper.

“It is designed to ensure the balance between the interests of solicitors and their clients, reinforce the independence and impartiality of the Client Relations Office and provide real redress for people dissatisfied with their solicitor or with the Society’s handling of their complaint.”

Other key Society responses to questions in the consultation include:

keeping regulatory and representative functions undivided as at present to balance the interests of the public and the profession
further non-solicitor involvement in the decision-making process, for instance non-solicitors to become involved in the Society’s ruling Council by October this year
replacing the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman by a board for consistent decision making.

The Society states that the consultation has also provided an opportunity to underline the many advances made by the Society in complaints handling in recent years, illustrated not least by the continued heavy investment in its Client Relations Office (£2.1million next year). For instance, decision-making in complaints has been taken away from the Council of the Society by the Council of the Law Society of Scotland Act 2003. There is now 50% non-solicitor involvement in the decision-making process for complaints. The speed and effectiveness of the complaints system has improved dramatically since a new complaints system was implemented in September 2003.

New rules requiring all solicitors’ firms to have a Client Relations Partner and to give every client a letter of engagement were introduced by the Society this summer.

The Society’s full response and a summary document, “Regulation of Solicitors in Scotland”, is available at www.lawscot.org.uk.