Proposed Complaints Commission fees announced

Solicitors face £307 base charge for nine-month budget period

News, 2 May 2008

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission has announced its initial budget.

The Commission's financial year will run from 1 July to 30 June, and the proposed budget laid before the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday covers the nine months from 1 October, when the Commission opens its doors to the public, to June 2009. The budget has been set at £2.6 million.

A flat rate levy per solicitor holding a practising certificate would produce a figure of £248. With discounts for in-house lawyers and those recently qualified, adjusted figures work out at:

Solicitors with three or more years' experience - £307
Solicitors with up to three years' experience - £153
Solicitors working in-house - £102

Advocates will pay a levy of £248.

The figures are significantly higher than estimated when the Legal Profession etc Bill was under consideration, when the predicted contribution was about £200 per head. Any surplus at the end of the financial year will be carried forward to the next. The first invoices will be issued to the profession at the end of May.

Case fees where complaints are upheld will be £200, where a mediated settlement is reached, £250 when resolved by an investigator and £400 if determined by the full Commission. Increases will apply where further complaints are upheld within a certain period; the Commission will have discretion to waive these if the complaints concern different departments within the same firm.

Case fees may also be waived where a complainer rejected a solicitor's offer to settle a case and the Commission's award is no higher.