All law firms in England and Wales could find their complaints records made public and have to make an annual return on how they have handled complaints internally, under plans being considered by the Law Society's Consumer Complaints Service (CCS).


Although the ideas are at an early stage, Professor Shamit Saggar, chairman of the Consumer Complaints Board, said he has 'never come across a convincing argument' against the principle of making public the number of complaints upheld against a firm.



The transparency strategy - seen as part of the change agenda of new CCS chief executive Deborah Evans - chimes with that of the Regulation Board, which plans to make public formal regulatory sanctions that fall short of referrals to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.



The first stage will be capturing information about what is happening internally at firms. According to Prof Saggar, they may be required to supply the CCS with a copy of their complaints-handling procedures, as practice rule 15 demands they have; details of complaints pending and dealt with during the year; and what processes the firm has to use the knowledge gained to prevent future complaints.



He explained that the rationale was, in part, to disseminate good and bad practice, and also to help the CCS manage its own external risk. 'A complaint by itself is not a bad thing,' he said. 'Not learning from it is.'



Ms Evans said that although publicising complaints records 'would be a great thing to do down the line', the presentation would have to be right, with the information put in context. 'There would have to be a lot of consultation before we did it,' she added. Prof Saggar agreed, suggesting that the CCS would need to create a weighted formula taking all aspects into account. If it could not be done, the proposal would not go ahead.



It is envisaged, however, that making complaints records public would focus partners' minds more keenly on the issue. Zahida Manzoor, the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner, backed the move. She said: 'Better handling by solicitors of complaints should reduce the number of complaints handled by the Law Society and this will be of benefit to the consumer and the profession.'



Both initiatives would require changes to the practice rules and thus the approval of the Law Society Council. Desmond Hudson, the new chief executive of the Society's representative arm, said: 'Giving the public the best information to help them to choose a solicitor is part of the maintenance and constant improvement of standards that the Law Society believes is vital. The representative arm works closely with the Consumer Complaints Board and the Regulation Board to make sure that process works in the interests of the profession and consumers.'