Law firms receiving complaints from clients should consider the emotional harm their failings may have caused, the legal ombudsman has advised.

The complaints handler said that in 2024/25 it had ordered firms to pay compensation for emotional effects in more than 85% of cases where service had fallen short of a reasonable standard.

In its latest feature on the best ways to deal with complaints, the ombudsman said service providers need to reflect on the consequences of their failings and offer to pay for these effects. Such an approach may even mean that the firm avoids any further remedy being issued by the ombudsman.

‘A client who learns that they are significantly out of pocket, through no fault of their own, is going to be upset about it,’ said the ombudsman. ‘They might have an initial shock, encounter resistance in fixing the problem, and have some worries about the prospect of not getting their money back at all. Service providers who handle complaints most effectively will recognise the emotional effects in their response, even if offering a refund of fees or compensation.’

The ombudsman said its approach to compensation is intentionally different to that of the courts: instead of issuing awards for the financial effect of what has gone wrong, clients are compensated for upset, worry or inconvenience. Remedies are not given to reflect the failing but more the consequences of the failing on the person bringing the complaint.

‘It is common for us to hear from clients that the biggest consequence of a failing in the service they received has been emotional: a nasty surprise, the hassle of fixing a problem that should never have existed or the frustrations that can flow from a breakdown in communication.’

The organisation stressed that not every emotional effect should be included in compensation because these are not always the lawyer’s fault. It is acknowledged that divorces, moving home, dealing with an estate or waiting for a court hearing are all inherently difficult experiences, and it is only where a law firm makes these things worse that a client should expect compensation.

In one case study involving an anonymised firm, the ombudsman awarded £2,150 to cover fees and wasted expenses after a divorce client suffered delays and was not kept informed of the problems the firm was having. A further £750 was awarded because the client had suffered ‘intense and long-lasting’ emotional effects while her divorce stalled for three years.