Conduct and serviceChanging fee-earnersFailure to inform clients of changes in thefee-earner dealing with their case continues to cause complaints to the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors.Law Society Practice rule 15 requires the client to be told the name and status of the person with day-to-day control of the matter.

Apart from professional obligation, this is also a matter of simple client care (and plain good manners).

Naturally, the client wants to know who is dealing with the case and who to contact if concerns arise.Far too many firms observe the requirement at the outset of the retainer, but fail to keep clients informed if there is a change of fee-earner later on.Such changes can occur for many, quite legitimate, reasons.

Many large criminal practices are departmentalised, so different personnel deal with different stages of the process.

There is nothing wrong with this, provided the client is forewarned of changes and told why.These complaints frequently arise as the result of a fee-earner leaving the firm, someone else taking over the file and the client not being told, sometimes for weeks.

The reason may be fear of losing the client to the departing fee-earner if the client is told in advance (and isn't the fee-earner likely to tell the client of the impending move?), or it may simply be a question of expense.Whatever the reason, the inevitable result, particularly if this happens more than once, is that the client correctly thinks he is not being kept abreast of important developments.

Is it any wonder if clients then go on to imagine further instances, perhaps incorrectly, where they think they are not being told about other pertinent developments?Try to see things from the client's point of view.

Surely you like to know who in your accountant's office is dealing with your accounts or your tax affairs, and if there's going be a change in those arrangements? So it is with clients.

They also like to know who is handling their affairs - so make sure they are told.

If this is not done the client will feel isolated and that no one is bothered - and that's when the complaints will start to multiply.l Every case before the compliance and supervision committee is decided on its individual facts.

These case studies are for illustration only and should not be treated as precedents.LawyerlineFacing a complaint? Need advice on how to handle it? Get in touch with Mike Frith at LAWYERLINE, the support service offered by the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors, tel: 0870 606 2588.