Conduct and service

Disclose the statusMost firms routinely send what has become known as a client care letter, which usually contains most of the information required by Law Society practice rule 15, at the beginning of every transaction.

But some are a little coy when it comes to revealing the status of the fee-earner who will deal with the matter.This usually happens when the fee-earner is not a qualified solicitor.

Presumably the firm fears that if the client knows this, it may lose the work.How firms cope with such a problem is a matter for them.

In most cases, though, a reassurance to the client that the fee-earner is experienced in the field and will be supervised by a solicitor, or if a trainee is involved, that they have, for example, passed their examinations and are now undergoing their practical training and will be supervised, will usually suffice.

This is particularly so if the client is to be charged at a lower rate than would otherwise be the case.What must not be done, however, is simply to give the client no indication at all, leaving them to draw their own - possibly incorrect - conclusions.

This is not only a breach of the code, but you might end up not being able to charge for your firm's services.

This is the significance of Pilbrow (Pearless De Rougement & Co v Stuart John Pilbrow [1999] 3 All ER 355), which could have been avoided had the firm sent its client a client care letter and disclosed the status of the fee-earner in it.In a recent complaint to the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS) the client maintained she had never been told that the fee-earner dealing with her matter was a trainee.She had other complaints as well - including one of inadequate supervision that was not upheld - but the firm's view on the 'status' complaint was that it should have been obvious from their client care letter, which set out the charge rates for all the firm's fee earners, that the fee-earner in question was a trainee.The argument did not impress either the client or the OSS and was a contributory factor in the compensatory award that was made.The moral is clear - firms must ensure the status of fee-earners is disclosed in their client care letters.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 service complaint? Need advice on how to handle it? Contact Mike Frith at LAWYERLINE, the support service offered by the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors, tel: 0870 606 2588.