Solicitors will be required to tell their clients how to complain at the end of their matter as well as on initial instruction under proposals published by the regulator.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority today opens a consultation on changes to the code of conduct to require solicitors to inform clients more frequently of their right to complain. As well as providing information at the conclusion of a matter, firms would have to provide complaint details upon request and if a complaint is made during a matter.
The SRA is also proposing to enforce and expand the current expectation that solicitors publish details of their complaints-handling procedure on their websites. The consultation asks whether such information should be required to be published in a 'prominent and accessible' place, as is already the case for costs information.
A survey carried out by the regulator found that only 68% of firms publish their complaints procedure online, despite it being a requirement. When they do, it is not always easy to find.
Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: ‘Solicitors shouldn’t be afraid of encouraging complaints - they are an opportunity to identify areas for improvement and ways to deliver more effectively for clients. Our research suggests that there’s no negative connotations around firms being so open about their complaints process.
‘The rule changes we’ve suggested should help firms to help their clients by having clearer triggers for when complaints information is provided and having a clearer definition of what a complaint is. The changes would also provide us with a better idea of how the profession can improve customer service overall.’
The SRA says that overall numbers of complaints to law firms has increased in recent years, although so too has the percentage resolved by the firms. From January to March this year, the regulator visited 25 firms and surveyed 750. It said it found variations in how firms identified, defined and handled complaints, prompting the proposals.
As well as changes to the rules, the regulator is looking to increase the information it collects about complaint handling so trends can be identified. One area that may be looked at is data on how quickly complaints are resolved: this could be collected from solicitors in future when practising certificates are renewed. This data may then be published for the public to see, although the SRA stresses that contextual information would be given to make the figures useful.
The consultation is open until 25 July and can be accessed here.
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