Conduct and service

Don't make things worse

It's bad enough when clients complain, but it's madness then to ignore the complaint.

This is particularly so now that the Law Society has made it clear that solicitors who render an inadequate service will, as a rule, also find themselves having to pay the costs of the consequent investigation by the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS).

A firm had been instructed in a matter involving an underlease of commercial premises, a transaction which needed the consent of the superior landlord.

Although this was known, consent was not applied for until two months after instructions were received.

The folly of not dealing with things promptly was then starkly illustrated when the solicitor's client, the assignor, unexpectedly died.

Of course, this meant that the whole transaction had to be 'put on ice' until a grant of letters of administration was obtained.

When the matter was eventually completed, the administrator raised various complaints.

One was that he had not been kept informed about progress and another that he had received no advance indication about the costs that would be incurred, and no breakdown of the bill when this was requested.

The administrator's complaints were raised by means of a complaint resolution form sent to the solicitors, to which they failed to respond.

As a result, the complainant was forced to approach the OSS - and the solicitors did not bother to respond to its letters, either.

Not until the formal report containing the caseworker's recommendations had been sent out did the solicitor bother to comment.

He then protested that he did not need to give costs information because the deceased client was of long standing and was well acquainted with the level of charging.

The argument did not impress the adjudicator.

He considered that, although failing to tell the original client about costs may have been justified, the solicitor should have given that information to the administrator, who was not an established client.

Bearing in mind the fact that the solicitor ignored the complaints of the administrator and correspondence from the OSS, he may be considered lucky to have got away with a compensatory award of only 450.

The adjudication panel, to whom the administrator appealed, was less charitable and increased the compensation to 750.

However, such a complaint reaching the OSS after 1 May 2002 would almost certainly result in an order for the solicitor also to have to pay the costs of the investigation up to 840.

Every case before the adjudication panel is decided on its individual facts.

This case study is for illustration only and should not be treated as a precedent

Lawyerline

Facing 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.