UK Law Articles
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The Times
July 7 1998
Complaints on the rise
Complaints against lawyers last year totalled one for every three of the 71,000 solicitors in England and Wales, says Legal Services Ombudsman Ann Abraham, Frances Gibb writes.
In her first annual report last week Ms Abraham, who monitors the way the legal profession handles complaints, said that the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS) could be "overwhelmed by the sheer volume".
The OSS and Bar Council had made progress in improving procedures, but still did not meet the standards needed to justify self-regulation into the next century, she added.And the rise in complaints would be turned only if solicitors took responsibility for tackling clients in their own firms.
Complaints against solicitors included communication failures, defensiveness and refusal to admit mistakes; apparent reluctance on the part of the OSS to investigate; delay, confusion and poor communication by the OSS; leniency by the OSS towards solicitors and failure to provide adequate redress, and gaps in professional conduct rules.
The ombudsman commended the new Bar complaints system and its new lay complaints commissioner. But the changes seemed to be more of "symbol than substance", she said. A change in attitude by the Bar Council as well as one of procedure was needed.
Ms Abraham also said that there was one complaint for every 21 practising barristers (some 9,000) and one for every six licensed conveyancers. Recurring themes in complaints against barristers concerned conduct overlooked or given insufficient weight by the General Council of the Bar; the council's inability or reluctance to recommend payment of compensation for poor service; and lack of transparency in advising the complainant of the outcome of a complaint.
In 1997 the ombudsman conducted 1,519 investigations, up 9 per cent on 1996. Six per cent of complaints handled by the OSS were referred to the ombudsman, while 33 per cent of complaints dealt with by the General Council of the Bar were referred.
"Public confidence in the legal profession is not a picture of health," says Ms Abraham.
Among complaints about solicitors was one over the "mysteries of the solicitor's uplift on costs for care and attention". Most clients assume they are already paying for care and attention in the standard fee, the report said. Ms S, for example, had no reason to think the hourly rate quoted (£85) did not include any charge for care and attention or for VAT.
"In fact, it included neither so the real hourly rate was £150. The ombudsman recommended that the solicitors pay £300 compensation for failing to make this clear."
In a case involving a barrister the client complained that the barrister had changed three times before the actual trial and that, finally - having earlier been advised the case was a strong one - the barrister advised the client to settle at the door of the court.
"The client was bewildered," Ms Abraham says. Although the Bar Council investigated and an apology was made by the head of chambers, it left a "big gap in terms of squaring the circle" of effective redress.
Paul Pharaoh, the chairman of the Law Society's compliance and supervision committee, said the society recognised more work was needed and shared the ombudsman's disappointment over some solicitors' failure to deal with dissatisfied clients. Heather Hallett, QC, the Chairman of the Bar Council, said the report was constructive, adding that the Bar had already identified the weakness in its system - ie, that complainants were not kept fully informed about the outcome of their complaints - and taken steps to deal with it.
- The Legal Services Ombudsman's annual report, £9.50, from the Stationery Office.
