The advent of the Office for Legal Complaints will increase pressure on law firms to ensure their own procedures work, says Zahida Manzoor


It has been a long and sometimes rocky road but the Legal Services Act is now on the statute books. The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) envisaged by the Act has yet to be created. Law firms now have a two- to three-year window of opportunity to ensure that their internal complaints procedures are of a standard that will satisfy consumers' raised expectations. The Act means there will be financial penalties as well as risks to the reputations of firms and individuals if consumer expectations are ignored.



It is envisaged that the Legal Services Board and OLC will be implemented around 2010 or 2011. The new and independent OLC is a chance for a fresh start for legal complaints-handling - something I have advocated for a long time. The independence of the OLC from the profession should encourage consumer confidence in how their complaints will be handled. This must be supported by an improvement in 'in-house' handling of complaints by some firms of solicitors to reduce the number of complaints the OLC will have to handle when it opens its doors.



The Legal Complaints Service and Solicitors Regulation Authority have between them received around 18,000 written complaints annually over the last couple of years and, in my opinion, many of these complaints could have been dealt with by solicitors when the original complaint was made.



The majority of complaints I see as ombudsman, which the Legal Complaints Service handles, are about simple things such as failure to keep people informed regarding the progress of their cases, poor or no cost information, and failure to notify clients if there is a change in direction with their cases. Failure by some firms and individual solicitors to put things right and respond quickly, fairly and efficiently to their clients' grievances results in the escalation of complaints. This is a 'lose-lose' situation, as the client, the firm and the professional body are forced to invest unnecessary time and resources to resolve what was often originally a simple issue.



The financial incentive for firms to get their house in order and have good complaints systems in place will be strengthened when the OLC is up and running. It will be able to charge the profession for handling its complaints. The concept of 'polluter pays' has caused some people concern. It is clear that some branches of the profession undertaking contentious work may be likely to attract more complaints than others - particularly from clients who may be dissatisfied with the outcome of their case.



But a provision in the Act does offer some protection for professionals who try to resolve complaints properly. The OLC will only waive charges for a complaint not upheld against a lawyer if the ombudsman is satisfied that the lawyer handled the complaint properly in-house. This means that if law firms take the service they offer to consumers as seriously as the quality of advice they provide, they will have nothing to fear.



Until the OLC and the board are established, as ombudsman I will also continue to work with all legal professional bodies to improve and maintain standards for consumers. As commissioner, I will carry on my work with the Law Society to regulate its complaints-handling work and oversee improvements.



Law firms have the time to ensure they have good internal systems in place for complaints-handling and are ready before the OLC is established. The benefit of this for the consumer will be a more efficient complaints-handling system. The benefit for firms will be a reduction in time and resources spent on responding to complaints. The benefit for the profession as a whole will be a reduction in the number of complaints seen by the OLC and an enhanced reputation for all its members. Now, this would be a 'win-win' situation.



Zahida Manzoor CBE is the Legal Services Ombudsman and the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner