1 Introduction
1.1 Who should read this practice note?
This practice note is relevant to managing partners, practice managers and all employees involved in responding to complaints.
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1.2 What is the issue?
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is implementing outcomes-focused regulation (OFR) in October 2011. OFR is a move away from a rules-based approach to one that focuses on high-level outcomes governing practice and the quality of outcomes for clients.
An overview of OFR can be found on the Law Society's website. This provides information on what the SRA Handbook contains, including a summary of the chapters in the Code of Conduct and a summary of the reporting requirements included throughout the Handbook.
The SRA has published a Handbook, which sets out all the SRA's regulatory requirements. It outlines the ethical standards that the SRA expects of law firms and practitioners and the outcomes that the SRA expects them to achieve for their clients.
The SRA Handbook includes a Code of Conduct (SRA Code), which replaces the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007 (2007 Code). The Code establishes outcomes-focused conduct requirements and each chapter outlines outcomes and indicative behaviours (IBs).
The SRA Handbook and Code will be in force from 6 October 2011. The Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007, and all of its rules and guidance, will not apply to conduct after that date and will cease to have any effect, save in respect of any review by the SRA of conduct taken prior to 6 October 2011 to which the 2007 Code will still be applied.
Chapter 1 of the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2011 requires that all practices have a process for responding to client complaints. However, there are several further reasons why good quality complaints management is essential for a practice wanting to remain competitive in today's legal market.
1.2.1 Enhanced accountability
An effective complaints management process enables individual solicitors and practices to demonstrate how they discharge their professional obligations and meet reasonable client expectations. Solicitors are held to account by regulators and clients for how they conduct themselves, both in terms of technical legal skills and client care.
1.2.2 Accepting that complaints will occur
Complaints are a business risk which cannot be avoided, but must instead be managed. However high your standard of client care, you cannot keep all clients, and others contacting your practice, happy all the time.
1.2.3 All feedback is useful
While praise is preferable, complaints are crucial feedback on how to improve your practice. An effective complaints management process is an integral aspect of quality client care. It allows you to continually improve business practices, retain clients, enhance your reputation and remain competitive.
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1.3 Professional conduct
The following sections of the SRA Code are relevant to this issue:
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1.4 Status of this practice note
Practice notes are issued by the Law Society for the use and benefit of its members. They represent the Law Society's view of good practice in a particular area. They are not intended to be the only standard of good practice that solicitors can follow. You are not required to follow them, but doing so will make it easier to account to oversight bodies for your actions.
Practice notes are not legal advice, nor do they necessarily provide a defence to complaints of misconduct or of inadequate professional service. While care has been taken to ensure that they are accurate, up to date and useful, the Law Society will not accept any legal liability in relation to them.
For queries or comments on this practice note contact the Law Society's Practice Advice Service.
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1.5 Terminology
Must - A specific requirement in legislation or of a principle, rule, outcome or other mandatory provision in the SRA Handbook. You must comply, unless there are specific exemptions or defences provided for in relevant legislation or the SRA Handbook.
Should
- Outside of a regulatory context, good practice for most situations in the Law Society's view.
- In the case of the SRA Handbook, an indicative behaviour or other non-mandatory provision (such as may be set out in notes or guidance).
These may not be the only means of complying with legislative or regulatory requirements and there may be situations where the suggested route is not the best possible route to meet the needs of your client. However, if you do not follow the suggested route, you should be able to justify to oversight bodies why the alternative approach you have taken is appropriate, either for your practice, or in the particular retainer.
May - A non-exhaustive list of options for meeting your obligations or running your practice. Which option you choose is determined by the profile of the individual practice, client or retainer. You may be required to justify why this was an appropriate option to oversight bodies.
SRA Code - SRA Code of Conduct 2011
2007 Code - Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007
OFR - Outcomes-focused regulation
SRA - Solicitors Regulation Authority
IB - indicative behaviour
Overseas - outside England and Wales
A glossary of other terms used throughout this practice note is available on the SRA website.
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1.6 Acknowledgements
To ensure the quality of this practice note, the Law Society has reviewed guidance published by a number of complaints bodies and the International Standards Organisation. Specific reference has been made to:
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2. Principles of complaints management
2.1 Visibility
Information on how and where to complain should be well publicised to clients.
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2.2 Accessibility
A complaints management process should be easy to access for all clients and free of charge. You should make information available on how to make a complaint and how it will be resolved. The process and supporting information should be easy to understand and use. You should consider formats for information in light of your client demographic and the principles of equality.
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2.3 Responsiveness
The timeliness of your response is as important as its tone, in reassuring your client that they are being taken seriously. Acknowledge receipt of each complaint to the client and address the complaint promptly. Treat clients courteously and update them on the progress of their complaint through the complaints management process.
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2.4 Objectivity
It is important to see a complaint as an opportunity for improvement in client care rather than as a personal attack on your practice. Address all complaints in an equitable, objective and unbiased manner through the complaints management process.
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2.5 Confidentiality
As with any information received from the client during a retainer, you should treat the information received through the complaints management process with confidentiality. Only make personally identifiable information about the client available where needed, for the purposes of addressing the complaint within the practice.
Details of staff involvement should also be treated with discretion.
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2.6 Client-focused approach
Your clients are the future of the practice. A satisfied client can recommend up to five new clients, but a dissatisfied client can lose the practice up to 23 new clients. You should adopt a client-focused approach, be open to feedback including complaints, and show commitment to resolving complaints by taking action. You should remain sensitive to the individual differences and needs of your client.
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2.7 Accountability
You should set clear accountability within the practice for responding to complaints, deciding on action, and reporting on these decisions.
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2.8 Communication
Good communication is essential to both high quality client care and effective complaints management. Poor communication will result in clients feeling that they have not been understood, taken seriously or valued, which in turn is likely to lead them to raise their complaints in another forum. Effective communication can help to resolve disputes quickly and build greater client loyalty.
To communicate well, you should:
- make sure that the information you need to communicate is presented in a clear and straightforward manner. Complicated forms and overly legalistic language will act as a barrier to clients seeking to resolve their concerns directly with you, and instead encourage them to seek other avenues of redress.
- be alert to communication challenges which clients face, such as hearing difficulties, disability, language barriers or other cross-cultural issues, and look at ways to overcome those challenges.
- genuinely listen to the client and seek to understand the situation from their point of view. Clients who feel that they have been genuinely listened to are more confident that they are being taken seriously and will be more open to resolving the situation through your practice, rather than seeking external intervention.
- keep clients updated on the progress of their complaint and outline what the next step in the process is and the likely timeframes.
Address the specific issues raised by the complaint, rather than simply providing a stock standard response. Even if you decide that the complaint is not justified or that you are unable to provide the client with the remedy they seek, be polite and professional in your response. Clients are more likely to respect the decision you have made if it has been explained clearly and has been delivered in a respectful manner.
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3 Framework
3.1 Types of complaints
Chapter 1 of the SRA Codespecifically requires that practices respond to complaints from clients. The Legal Ombudsman will also consider complaints from representatives of clients who are no longer able to take forward a complaint that they had made. Many complaints management processes will focus on complaints from clients. However, firms can receive complaints from a range of other sources, including:
- people connected with the client, such as family members, carers and guardians
- solicitors representing the other side of the dispute or transaction
- barristers involved in the retainer
- those involved in the justice system such as judges, court officials and prison officials
The principles within the SRA Code require that you must not behave in a way that diminishes the trust the public places in you or the profession. Complaints from any source can undermine the reputation of the practice. A well developed complaints management process should be able to adapt to resolve complaints from all of these sources.
A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction made to a practice in relation to the legal services, client care or complaints management processes provided by the practice, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected.
The general principles in this practice note apply to any category of complaint. However, you must consider whether the complaint involves matters which they can resolve internally, or whether you need to notify any other agencies of the complaint.
Complaints will generally fall within one or more of the following four categories:
3.1.1 Inadequate professional service
Any aspect of client care falling below that which could be reasonably expected. These complaints may be considered by the Legal Ombudsman. Only individuals, small businesses and charities can use the Legal Ombudsman's service. There are time limits in place.
3.1.2 Negligence
A failure to provide legal services to the standard provided by a reasonably competent solicitor. These complaints may be considered by the Legal Ombudsman and can involve your insurers or the courts.
3.1.3 Misconduct
A breach of the SRA Handbook. These complaints may be investigated by the SRA. Outcome 10.4 requires that you must report serious misconduct by any person or firm authorised by the SRA , or any employee, manager or owner of any such firm to the SRA. There are additional reporting requirements on individuals, firms and compliance officers.
3.1.4 Criminal conduct
On rare occasions allegations of criminal conduct may be made. These may warrant the involvement of the police.
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3.2 Models
A complaints management process is a structured process for receiving, recording, investigating and responding to complaints. A good system will be simple, transparent and timely. It should complement your practice's values and be integral to the way your practice conducts its practice.
The code of conduct allows practices to determine the form of their complaints management system. This will depend on the size and structure of the practice and the volume and nature of complaints received.
Components of a complaints management process include:
3.2.1 An initial client service stage
Frontline staff members should be designated and trained for receiving complaints. They should have the authority to deal with specified low-level client complaints, such as failing to respond to a letter and preparing and sending the response. This stage should include complaint registration and attempted resolution. You should also consider how you record complaints. The SRA collects data from firms on their first-tier complaints as part of their annual information gathering exercise. Collecting this information may also help the compliance officers in their duties to record all non-compliance and report serious non-compliance to the SRA.
3.2.2 An internal investigation or review stage
This stage applies where:
- the complaint is more serious and requires investigation
- the complaint raises allegations of repeated and systemic poor service
- the client seeks an internal review of a decision
Any investigation or review should be undertaken by someone in the practice uninvolved with the retainer resulting in the complaint. This person should be at least as senior as the person complained about or the person who initially responded to the complaint.
3.2.3 An external investigation stage
Where a practice cannot resolve a complaint directly with the client, an independent third party may be required. You may offer the client the opportunity to involve an independent mediator to assist with resolving the complaint. Clients should be advised of their right to raise their concerns with the Legal Ombudsman.
3.2.4 Continuous improvement features
An effective complaints management process will feed into continuous improvement of your practice's practices. Record relevant complaints data and analyse it for both the causes of individual complaints and trends in complaints. You should use this information to help enhance business processes and employee training.
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3.3 Policy
Indicative behaviour 1.22 suggests that practices should have a document on complaints management, that:
- is brought to clients' attention at the outset of the matter
- is easy for clients to use and understand, allowing for complaints to be made by any reasonable means
- is responsive to the needs of individual clients, especially those who are vulnerable
- enables complaints to be dealt with promptly and fairly, with decisions based on a sufficient investigation of the circumstances
- provides for appropriate remedies; and
- does not involve any charges to clients for handling their complaints
The indicative behaviours also suggest the document on complaints handling should be made available to clients.
Read a sample complaints management policy (DOC, 35kb) which you may wish to adapt for your practice.
Internally, depending on the size of your practice, you may require more detailed procedures. These should comply with the public policy, but will outline:
- how complaints are to be recorded and filed
- who needs to be notified, internally and externally, about different types of complaints
- who has authority for dealing with complaints
- timescales for investigating the complaint and responding to the client
- circumstances in which complaints should be escalated within the practice
- circumstances in which no action will be taken on complaints or communication with a complainant will cease
- guidelines on appropriate remedies
- training requirements for staff on complaints management
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3.4 Management commitment
The SRA Code emphasises the importance of good practice management. This recognises the crucial role that senior management plays in developing a culture of client care and effective complaints management.
Senior management must be supportive of the complaints management process, and encourage a workplace culture that embraces accountability and opportunities for continual improvement.
A complaints management process will be most effective when the practice as a whole commits to:
- encouraging both positive and negative feedback from clients
- accepting the right of clients to complain
- acknowledging the benefits of an effective complaints management process
- approaching complaint resolution in a non-defensive, open and proactive way
- providing remedies that meet the client's needs
- promoting accountability for effective complaints management within the practice
- using complaints information to continually improve business practices and levels of client care
To effectively build a positive complaints culture in your practice, senior management should:
- raise awareness among staff of the complaints management process
- appropriately resource the process
- model good complaints management behaviour
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3.5 Ensuring visibility and access
3.5.1 Informing clients about your complaints procedure and the Legal Ombudsman
You must advise clients in writing at the start of an engagement and at the conclusion of your complaints procedure of their right to complain, and the process for doing so. You must also advise them of their right to complain about the bill. You must inform clients of their right to take a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, the contact details for that organisation and the timeframe for doing so. This information should be provided to clients, in writing, at the outset and included in any document providing a detailed description of your services. You should include a paragraph in the client care letter and draw it to the client's attention. You may also need to highlight who is eligible to use the services of the Legal Ombudsman (see below).
For example:
Complaints
[Practice name] is committed to high quality legal advice and client care. If you are unhappy about any aspect of the service you have received or about the bill, please contact [Name] on [phone number and e-mail] or by post to our [place] office. We have a procedure in place which details how we handle complaints which is available at [details of how to obtain it.]
We have eight weeks to consider your complaint. If we have not resolved it within this time you may complain to the Legal Ombudsman.
If you are not satisfied with our handling of your complaint you can ask the Legal Ombudsman at [contact details] to consider the complaint. Normally, you will need to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint or within a year of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurring (or you becoming aware of it).
3.5.2 Informing clients about their right to complaint about or challenge a bill
Clients must be informed of their right to complain about or challenge the bill. Clients can challenge the bill by applying for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974. You should inform clients that the Legal Ombudsman may not consider a complaint about the bill if a client has applied to the court for assessment of the bill.
You must also inform clients about when you may be able to charge interest on all, or part of, a bill.
3.5.3 Eligibility of clients to use the Legal Ombudsman's service
The Legal Ombudsman only accepts complaints from individual and small businesses, charities or associations. If you think that your clients may not be eligible to take a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman you may wish to highlight these restrictions to them. You should be aware that, under the Code of Conduct 2011 all clients must be informed about the right to take complaints to the Legal Ombudsman at the start of an engagement, and at the conclusion of your complaints procedure, regardless of your view as to their eligibility or whether or not they are in fact eligible.
3.5.4 Additional options for ensuring high visibility of the complaints management process
Additional options for ensuring high visibility of the complaints management process may include:
- including contact details for complaints as a footer in all client correspondence or fee notes
- a feedback section with contact details on your website
- a sign in the office reception highlighting your commitment to client care and listing complaint contact details
Consider your client demographic and whether any clients are particularly vulnerable when deciding how to present information. For example, you may provide information in a language other than English, if you have a large client base from a particular ethnic group for whom English is a second language.
In certain cases you should remind clients of the complaints handling procedure for complaining. This will be appropriate where:
- the client is particularly vulnerable
- you are delivering the bill to a private client two years after you gave this information
- you are taking costs from money held on a client account, and you have not previously provided them with this information, or
- you are suing on the bill and you have not previously provided them with this information
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3.6 Resources
A complaints management process needs resources to be effective. This includes both people and equipment. While it is up to each practice to decide the appropriate levels of resources to be allocated, a complaints management process should:
- ensure complaints receive an appropriate response in a timely manner
- enables lessons learnt from the complaint to be incorporated into continuous business improvement
To decide on allocation of resources, you should consider:
- the size of your practice
- the number and severity of the complaints received
- the flexibility of existing resources
3.6.1 Personnel
All staff should be aware of:
- your complaints management process
- what information to provide to clients
- the importance of recording relevant information about the complaint
You may employ a complaints manager to oversee the complaints management process. Such a role may be combined with responsibilities for business development, risk management, regulatory compliance or other relevant areas.
Even if the role is shared between existing staff, you should be clear on who has authority to:
- make decisions on complaints
- internally review such decisions
You should ensure these staff members clearly understand their authority and the scope of their role and provide this information to other staff members.
You should make complaints management policies, procedures and forms easily accessible for all staff. You should provide the relevant staff with regular training on the practice's complaints management process. Staff who actually manage the practice's complaints may benefit from training on communication skills, negotiation, stress management and problem solving.
You should encourage staff to be involved in the complaints management process to help them develop a greater awareness of client service issues. They will then feel involved in developing and maintaining strong client relationships. A supportive environment focusing on appropriate accountability and learning, rather than blame, will greatly enhance staff support of the complaints management process.
3.6.2 Equipment
Your practice should be able to receive complaints in any format in which you communicate with clients. This may include mail, fax, telephone and email and a web-based form.
Systems for recording complaints information and tracking the progress of a complaint may be electronic or paper based. Whichever option is chosen, the process should ensure that:
- every complaint is recorded.
- key information about the complaint is captured in a central repository.
- the status of each complaint and the response provided can be identified.
- complaints are periodically reviewed to limit recurrence of the situations which led to the complaint and enhance business practices.
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4 The complaints management process
4.1 Receiving and recording
You should record the following information on receipt, to ensure complaints are responded to promptly and that relevant information is captured to assist with business improvement:
- the client's contact details
- a short summary of the complaint, attaching any supporting documentation received
- specific issues complained about
- any remedy requested
- date for a response
- who will prepare the response
- any immediate action taken
It should be possible to track the complaint through the practice, and for updates to be provided to the client on request, or at pre-determined times.
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4.2 Acknowledgement
You should acknowledge each complaint promptly, preferably in writing, even if it was received by telephone. Prompt acknowledgement will increase the client's perception that you are taking the matter seriously and are seeking a resolution.
The SRA Code does not set a specific timeframe for acknowledgement of a complaint. However, we believe acknowledgement within three working days is reasonable in most cases. It may be more effective to send a letter by e-mail or fax to ensure prompt receipt. This may be as well as, or instead of, mail.
The acknowledgement letter is a key opportunity to demonstrate your responsiveness to the client and to narrow the issues of dispute. It should contain:
- a statement of your understanding of the complaint.
- a request for any further information or material you require to consider the complaint and a timeframe for providing it to you.
- if no remedy has been sought, ask the client to outline what remedy they would like and a timeframe for informing you.
- the contact details of the person dealing with the complaint.
- when you will next contact the client and what information you will provide at that time.
- attach a copy of your public policy on complaints management, which will include details of the full complaints management process and general timeframes.
- full contact details for the Legal Ombudsman
- advice that the Legal Ombudsman can review the matter at the end of the consideration of the complaint by the practice, if the client remains dissatisfied
- the time limits for complaint to the Legal Ombudsman/LCS
You do not need to duplicate this in the letter, if it is already in your public policy document attached to the letter.
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4.3 Assessment
Your initial assessment will shape the way a complaint is resolved.
4.3.1 Treat each complaint seriously and consider it objectively
You should respond to all complaints, even where you ultimately decide they are frivolous or vexatious. Objectively considering the complaint ensures you are better able to respond in a measured and professional way.
4.3.2 Understand what the client is complaining about
You should clearly itemise the issues that your client is complaining about, if they have not already done so. If you are unsure or need more information, contact them for clarification. Clients will quickly lose faith in a practice's complaints management abilities if you fail to specifically address their concerns or address issues they have not raised.
4.3.3 Consider the complexity and seriousness of the complaint
The complexity and seriousness will influence the extent of any investigations required and who is the appropriate person in the practice to deal with the complaint. In particular cases it may be appropriate for a manager or a partner to immediately intervene in the conduct of a case to mitigate damage to the client and the practice.
4.3.4 Identify remedies sought and consider the range of remedies you could offer
Clients may still expect action, even where they do not specifically mention what outcome they would like. You may contact the client and ask what outcome they want.
Compensation may not be the most appropriate solution if the client just wants an apology and improved future service. However, compensation may be relevant, if they have borne extra expense or lost money as a result of your practice's action or inaction. In discussion with the client, they may be able to quantify this, enabling you to suggest reasonable compensation.
The level or type of remedy requested or to be considered may determine the appropriate person within the practice who should manage the complaint or approve any final decision. You should remember that the effectiveness of certain remedies may be tied to how quickly they are provided, as some remedies may not be available if certain time limits have elapsed. You should consider expediting your response where the likely remedies require it.
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4.4 Action
The action taken depends on the outcome of the assessment stage. The level of the investigation of the relevant circumstances of the complaint should be proportionate to the seriousness, frequency and severity of the complaint.
4.4.1 Timeframes
The complaint's complexity will drive the required time for investigating a complaint. You should always deal with a matter promptly as delays diminish the value of the final resolution.
For most service complaints, we believe 21 days should be a reasonable amount of time to either:
- conduct a preliminary investigation and provide interim feedback to a client
- reach a conclusion and offer relevant remedies.
Where complex issues are likely to take more than 21 days to investigate, you should agree a realistic, fair timeframe for responding to the client, to manage their expectations.
If complaints are consistently taking longer than this to resolve, you should consider why this is the case and seek to make your complaints management processes more timely.
If a complaint has not been resolved to the complainant's satisfaction within eight weeks of it being made to you then the complainant can ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider it. You must highlight this to your client along with the other relevant timeframes at the start of an engagement and at the conclusion of your complaints process.
4.4.2 Gathering evidence
It is a point of natural justice that both clients and staff members involved in the complaint should be given an opportunity to provide their account of the situation and respond to any allegations made by the other.
The seriousness of the complaint will drive whether you should either:
- simply ask the relevant staff members to explain their conduct of the retainer
- ask another staff member not involved with the retainer to independently review the file or the account information, before asking the relevant staff members for their explanation.
You should offer to support staff during the investigation, although this should not encroach on the objectivity or robustness of the investigation.
4.4.3 Records
You should document any steps taken to investigate the complaint. Where meetings are held with either or both parties, you should at least make a note of what was discussed at the meetings and give the parties to the meeting the opportunity to comment on and sign a copy of the note.
You should keep a copy of any documents relied upon for resolving the complaint, or at least a detailed reference of where the original is.
The Legal Ombudsman may ask to see records regarding a complaint it is investigating so it will be important to ensure complaint handling records are accurate and complete.
The SRA requires that compliance officers keep a record of all non-compliances with the regulatory requirements. In some cases complaints may relate to non-compliance with regulatory requirements. Therefore it will be important that the compliance office for legal practice (COLP) is aware of and records these incidents.
The SRA is requesting complaints information as part of its annual reporting requirements. Firms should therefore consider keeping a record of all complaints.
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4.5 Remedies
After an appropriate investigation, you will decide on the practice's response to the complaint. Where the complaint is justified, you should quickly offer an appropriate remedy. The goodwill generated by such remedies will be diminished by unreasonable delays or fraught negotiations.
Apologising to a client who has made a complaint about a minor matter can lead to the complaint being resolved quickly and help to maintain goodwill between you and the client. However, where the complaint is about a matter that may involve negligence on your part you should consider whether offering an apology could be seen as an admission of liability. Any admission of liability may have implications for your professional indemnity insurance and thus in these situations you may want to discuss any actions you plan to take with your insurer.
Even if you decide the complaint is unjustified or that the problem is not a result of your practice's actions, you should still consider taking action to enhance the client relationship and change any perception that they have been treated poorly by your practice.
You should consider your duty to notify your insurer about the complaint and the proposals for its remedy. You should not make an admission of liability for a complaint involving negligence on your part without the agreement of the insurer
4.5.1 Options for remedies
Options for remedies can include:
- an apology where the complaint is justified and it does not relate to a matter that may involve negligence on your part
- an expression of sympathy for the client's situation, or their perception of it, even if your practice has found that it is not at fault.
- fixing the specific problem
- improving the aspect of service that led to the problem
- offering to meet and explain again the service being provided, if the client is confused or misunderstands the service
- offering compensations for either specific losses or general inconvenience
- offering to reduce the bill or to undertake the work to rectify the situation free of charge
You should be clear about who in your practice can authorise certain remedies.
4.5.2 Discussing remedies with the client
You should consider the remedies your client has requested, while being clear about what remedies are available to manage the client's expectations.
Remain open to reasonable requests for financial compensation. Client may have suffered legitimate financial loss through your practice's actions. Where the client seeks unfeasible or unreasonable remedies, you should clearly say why you are unable or unwilling to provide remedies.
4.5.3 Guidelines on remedies
Accumulated experience within the practice will help you develop your own set of guidelines on reasonable remedies in particular situations.
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4.6 Providing feedback
4.6.1 The response
Promptly communicate any decision or action to the client. The tone and timing of your feedback is as important as its content. You should continue to be professional, accountable and client-focused in your communications. A well drafted response should:
- re-state the details of the complaint
- outline the investigations undertaken to consider the complaint
- state the findings resulting from the investigation
- make any offers of remedy and explain how they can accept those remedies
- explain any improvements the practice has made as a result of the complaint
- re-affirm the client's value to the practice and the practice's commitment to good client service
- outline appeal avenues if they remain dissatisfied
Clients must normally take a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of the final written response from you regarding their complaint, provided they are made aware of certain information about the Ombudsman. If they are not made aware of the information they will be able to bring their complaint beyond this time limit. Therefore at the conclusion of your complaints procedure the following information must be provided in writing :
- the client's right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman
- full contact details for the Legal Ombudsman
- the timeframe for complaint to the Legal Ombudsman
This information should be prominent and should normally be included within your final response.
4.6.2 Interim feedback
If the complaint cannot be immediately resolved, you should do all of the following:
- deal with the complaint in a manner intended to lead to its effective resolution as soon as possible
- keep the client informed of progress, and likely timeframes for resolution
- provide prompt remedies for parts of the complaint where possible, rather than waiting for the final resolution of the complaint
4.6.3 Keep staff informed
Keeping staff informed fosters a culture within the practice of openness and accountability.
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4.7 Closing the complaint
If the client accepts the proposed decision or action, then the decision or actions should be carried out and recorded.
If the client rejects the proposed decision or action, then the complaint should remain open. The client's decision should be recorded. If the client has asked for an internal review, you should proceed to that step. If they do not request an internal review, you should advise them again of their appeal options.
The practice should continue to monitor the progress of the complaint until all reasonable internal and external appeal options are finalised or the client is satisfied.
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4.8 Unmeritorious or vexatious complaints
Some clients make complaints without merit or use the practice's complaints management process in a vexatious manner. You should treat these clients with respect and professionalism. You should treat all complaints seriously and properly assess them. Even clients who are known to be difficult, or have difficulty expressing themselves, may still have a legitimate grievance.
4.8.1 Unmeritorious complaints
If you decide that the complaint is without merit, you should explain politely and clearly why you will not be taking any further action following the complaint and what the appropriate appeal options are. This will help assure the client that they have been given a fair hearing. You may still express sympathy for either the client's situation or their perception of their situation, without it being an admission of fault.
4.8.2 Ceasing correspondence
You may cease correspondence with a client in relation to a complaint where they continue to correspond with you about it, even though you have dealt with it fully.
This would be where their complaint has been fully considered by the practice, a decision has been made, remedies offered if appropriate and appeal options either taken up or ignored.
You should be willing to correspond with them about the outcome of your consideration on more than one occasion, before considering this option.
If you decide to cease corresponding with a client in relation to a complaint you should write to them, doing all of the following:
- outline briefly the details of their complaint
- re-state what decision has been made and why, or what remedies were offered
- explain that in the absence of new evidence in relation to that complaint, you will not continue to correspond with them on the matter and that you regard the complaint as closed
You should monitor any further correspondence for new evidence or areas of complaint not previously considered and make a note of your consideration. If further evidence or areas of complaint are raised you must assess this information and consider appropriate action.
4.8.3 Ongoing relationship with the client
If a client seeks to re-instruct you or to continue with a retainer where matters remain unresolved, you should consider whether you can continue to act under the circumstances. Can you effectively quarantine the dispute from the rest of the retainer, or has the relationship so broken down that you should not continue to act for the client. For advice on refusing or ceasing to act for a client, call the Solicitors Regulation Authority's Professional Ethics Helpline.
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5 Appeals
5.1 Receiving and recording
Depending on the size of your practice, you may be able to offer an internal review of a complaint decision.
Where an internal appeal process exists, the person conducting the appeal should be more senior than the person who is the subject of the complaint and who conducted the first investigation.
The internal reviewer should receive all of the complaint and investigation material, and any representations from the client on why the initial decision was incorrect. The reviewer should be able to conduct further investigations if they consider that the initial investigation was insufficient.
You should send the client a further acknowledgement letter giving:
- the contact details of the reviewer
- the process to be followed
- timeframes for the appeal
Once the internal review is complete, you should tell the client what the decision is and what the external appeal options are.
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5.2 Mediation
You may consider offering a complaint to an independent mediator, especially where:
- a senior partner was already involved in the initial investigation – common in smaller practices
- the relationship with the client is particularly deteriorating
Involving a third party may reassure the client that the matter has been considered objectively. It also allows a practice to show that they are being proactive in resolving the complaint and may relieve them of the perceived or actual conflict faced in judging their own conduct.
Using an independent mediator will not preclude a client from going on to raise the complaint with an external agency. But the mediation and its outcome would be relevant to the external agency's consideration of how the practice tried to resolve the complaint.
You should make the following clear at the start of the process:
- the mediation terms
- how feedback from the mediation will be given
- timeframes for accepting the outcome of the mediation
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5.3 External referral
Depending on the type of complaint, the client may refer a matter to an external agency. This is not part of the practice's internal complaints management process, but you should advise the client of how to appeal and relevant contact details. You should sufficiently document your internal processes to be able to appropriately respond to such an appeal.
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6 Monitoring and reviewing
You should use the lessons from complaints to continually improve you practice's business practices. This brings a dividend on the time and money spent managing complaints.
6.1 Monitoring
You should use the lessons from complaints to continually improve you practice's business practices. This brings a dividend on the time and money spent managing complaints.
You should consistently record relevant complaints information centrally to enable effective monitoring. You should review information regularly with senior management. The timetable depends on your practice's size and the number of complaints it receives, but a quarterly review should generally be considered reasonable.
Relevant information should include all of the following:
- summary of the key information documented on receipt - see 4.1
- the outcomes of any investigation
- details of remedies provided
- a note about complaints externally reviewed and the outcomes
By regularly reviewing this information, you can:
- identify trends in complaints and areas of service needing improvement
- assess whether policy or procedure changes are reducing the level of complaints
- assess the effectiveness of your complaints management process in resolving complaints internally
- build up an understanding of what are appropriate remedies in particular complaints
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6.2 Continual improvement
You should keep reviewing your complaints management process and consider how to update and improve it. You should encourage innovation and recognise good quality complaints management behaviour within the practice.
You should consider whether any failures in service are one off, or a part of a wider systemic issue. With systemic issues, you should go beyond the retainer in hand to get the most out of your complaints management process. You should consider:
- training on compliance with procedures
- changing high level procedures in light of new situations
- changing specific work practices to avoid repeating a problem
When considering changes, you should involve staff members who implement procedures or work practices to fully understand the practical implications.
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7 More information and products
Many people have had input into the preparation of this practice note. The members of the Money Laundering Task Force and others mentioned below deserve particular acknowledgement for both the time and energy they have committed to the development of the advice.
7.1 Law Society
7.3 Other
Solicitors Regulation Authority's Professional Ethics Helpline for advice on conduct issues.
The Legal Ombudsman also provides guidance on complaints handling.
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