Our complaints process | Solicitors Complaints Committee Northern Ireland

What to expect from the complaints process

: Consider whether we are the appropriate body to determine your complaint. There are two types of complaint you can lodge regarding a solicitor. These two types of complaints cover different areas and have different procedures. You need to decide which type of complaint to lodge:
A Professional Conduct Complaint – this is a complaint about the conduct the solicitor has shown and may include breaches of the Law Society’s various regulations including breaches of undertakings, allegations of misuse of client money, failure to discharge expert witness costs etc. The Law Society of Northern Ireland are the regulatory body for the solicitor profession when it comes to matters of conduct, therefore any complaint regarding the conduct of a solicitor should be submitted to the Law Society. Professional Conduct Complaint | The Law Society of Northern Ireland, or;
A Client Service Complaint – this is a complaint about the inadequacy of the professional services the solicitor has provided. This may relate to an act or omission made by the solicitor in the course of providing professional services. These complaints are considered by the Solicitor Complaints Committee who is independent of the Law Society.

The only person who can lodge a client complaint about the adequacy of a professional service provided by a solicitor or their firm is the person who used the services of the solicitor or firm (in other words, the solicitor’s own client). You cannot lodge a client service complaint about someone else’s solicitor.
You can lodge a client complaint on behalf of someone else as long as you have clear authority to do so through either; a form of authority, power of attorney, or Court Order.
If you are a beneficiary and would like to complain, the first point of contact is the executor of the will, or next of kin acting as personal representative of the estate. However, if you are unable to resolve the service issue with them, you can also lodge a client service complaint if you are a beneficiary of an estate in which the solicitor is acting. Our role will be to assist in obtaining as much information as possible to enable you to consider your own position and decide whether or not you require your own independent legal advice to protect your interest.
: Correspondence will normally be issued to you by post, although once your complaint has been received, correspondence may be issued via email if this is your preference.
Any communication preferences should be indicated in your complaint form from the outset.
Please note that information provided via telephone cannot be accepted as evidence as the Committee require certainty that the file records properly reflect your position. Therefore, any information given over the telephone will have to be confirmed by you in writing.
Please note that the staff of the Solicitor Complaints Office cannot provide you with advice, or opinion on your complaint and will only be able to collate the information you provide in order for us to make our determination.
A formal letter will be issued to you and the solicitor by post at each relevant stage of the complaint:
to confirm receipt of the complaint,
to confirm the Committee’s determination to register or dismiss the complaint,
to provide you with a copy of the solicitor’s response to the complaint,
to confirm the Committee’s determination of the initial review of the complaint,
to confirm the mode and date of hearing of the complaint,
to provide you with a copy of, or request any additional information or commentary from you,
at the conclusion of the investigation to confirm the Committee’s determination.

Step 1 - In House Complaint

You can lodge a complaint directly to your solicitor firm within six months of:

Your business concluding with the solicitor, or
Discovery of the problem.

Before deciding whether to make a complaint, you may wish to check the firm’s in-house complaints procedure. All firms must have their own written in-house complaints procedure which sets out the way in which you should raise your complaint and explains the steps they will take to try to resolve the issue.

Their in-house complaint procedure may be published on their website or should be available from their office upon request. It can sometimes also be in the terms of engagement or retainer which you may have signed at the beginning of your instruction to the solicitor. Alternatively, you may locate a precedent in-house complaint form through the Law Society’s website which can be accessed here: Step 2 - Contacting your solicitor to make a complaint | The Law Society of Northern Ireland

The in-house complaint process provides you with an opportunity to make the complaint to your solicitor in writing to ensure that they fully understand your concerns.

Your solicitor must acknowledge receipt of your complaint and provide a substantive reply within 28 days of receiving the complaint. You may be asked to call in to discuss your concerns or the solicitor may want to speak to you by telephone. In any event, you should receive a final written report.

Please keep a copy of the in-house complaint you lodge with your solicitor and any response received from your solicitor in case you need to proceed further with your complaint as we will need to see these if you complain to us.

If your solicitor fails to respond to your complaint within 28 days without a reasonable explanation, you can raise your complaint to us.

Once the solicitor has investigated your complaint and provided you with their response, you will be informed that the in-house complaint process has come to an end. If you consider that you have been unable to resolve your complaint at the conclusion of the in-house stage, you may lodge a complaint with us.

Step 2 - Submit your complaint to the Solicitors Complaints Committee

When you are complaining about a current case with your solicitor, attempts should be made at every stage to resolve misunderstandings, maintain the relationship, and restore lines of communication between you and your solicitor.

Where your complaint is about a case which is concluded, we will consider the service provided by the solicitor in relation to the issues raised in your complaint form and if appropriate may be able to provide a remedy.

Any complaint to us must be made in writing using a Form 1 Complaint Form within three months of the conclusion of the in-house complaint process.

If the solicitor has failed to respond to your complaint within the required 28 days at the in-house stage, you may lodge a complaint to the Solicitors Complaints Committee within 3 months of the expiration of the 28 day in-house response timeframe.

You can access our complaint form here, or by writing to:
Solicitor Complaints Office
Law Society House
96 Victoria Street
Belfast
BT1 3NL

All complaints should be submitted to us through the Solicitor Complaints Office using the complaint form, which you must sign. You may send in any documents which you think will help support or explain your complaint. You must always include a copy of your written complaint to the solicitor and any response received when submitting your complaint to us.

If you provide us with hard copy documents, these will not be returned to you unless you have specifically requested that we retain a copy and return the originals so please consider the most appropriate method of providing us with your supporting documentation.

You should ensure all aspects of the complaint are included in the complaint form as new issues cannot be raised later. It is important that all evidence is properly documented where possible, as this makes it easier to deal with disputed information.

To maintain confidentiality and to comply with statutory obligations, we must ensure that any complaint made about your solicitor’s service is in writing, signed by you, and contains a full postal address and contact details.

Correspondence will normally be issued to you by post, although once your complaint has been received, correspondence may be issued via email if this is your preference. Any communication preferences should be indicated in your complaint form from the outset.

Please note that information provided via telephone cannot be accepted as evidence as we require certainty that the file records properly reflect your position. Therefore, any information given over the telephone will have to be confirmed by you in writing. A formal letter will be issued to you and the solicitors by post at the conclusion of the investigation to confirm our determination.

EXCEPTIONS AND EXTENSIONS: There may be limited circumstances where you cannot raise your complaint directly with the solicitor, or you cannot raise your complaint within the prescribed timeframe. If you consider that you might be eligible for an exemption or extension, you should request this at the earliest opportunity within your complaint form when lodging your complaint with us.

Step 3 - Investigation of your complaint

When your completed complaint form has been received, it will be analysed to ensure that no information is outstanding. That is why it is important that you ensure you complete all questions in the complaint form and include any documents or evidence you wish to be considered from the outset.

If no information is outstanding, we will acknowledge receipt of your complaint and send a copy of the complaint form and supporting documents to the solicitor by way of notification that a complaint has been lodged.

We will then consider the complaint raised to determine whether it is something that we can consider.

If your complaint cannot be considered by us, you will be informed of the reasons why and may be signposted to alternative services that would have the remit to assist you.

If we determine that we can consider your complaint, the solicitor will be asked to respond in full to your complaint. On receiving the solicitor’s reply, a copy will be issued to you for your reference. Occasionally, further information or comment may then be required from the solicitor or from you. If this is the case, you will receive correspondence setting out what further comment or information is required.

Once all necessary information has been collated, the case may be concluded by a hearing. A hearing will usually take place without you or the solicitor needing to attend as written information will already have been gathered from both of you. If you wish to, or are required to attend the hearing, you will be informed of the process for this in advance.

Once we have determined your complaint at hearing, you and the solicitor will receive a written explanation of the Committee’s determination. A copy of the determination will also be issued to the Law Society and the Legal Services Oversight Commissioner as required by The Legal Complaints and Regulation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016.

Step 4 - Outcome of your complaint

Where your complaint has been dismissed or has not been upheld, you will be informed of the reasons why and if we considered that your complaint was frivolous (i.e. without merit) or vexatious (i.e. made deliberately with ill intentions) we may direct you to pay costs towards the time spent considering your complaint.

Where your complaint has been registered for investigation and upheld, and we consider it appropriate, the solicitor may be directed to take certain action to assist you within the remit of the Legal Complaints and Regulation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016. This may include one or more of the following:

Direct the solicitor to send their full file to us to assist in our investigation
Direct a solicitor to take steps to complete or rectify a matter,
Take such further action in the interests of the client as the SCC may direct at the solicitor’s expense,
Limit the costs to which the solicitor is entitled by directing a reduction, refund or waiving of a bill,
Award compensation to a complainant where a complaint is upheld,
Direct a solicitor to issue an apology to the complainant,
Award costs against the solicitor for the time spent considering the complaint.
Refer the solicitor to the Law Society of Northern Ireland if there are concerns about their conduct.

In the unusual event of your solicitor failing to co-operate with our investigation, or if we have concerns that raise conduct issues and would prompt further regulatory involvement, we may provide a report to the Law Society. If this occurs, you will be informed accordingly.

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