Complaints handlingThe Law Society is reviewing all aspects of regulation, including rule making and complaints handling.

Customer focus research has shown that members wanted the Society to get tough with firms which are letting the profession down.

As part of this, the Law Society is determined to have an efficient and effective system of complaints handling.Ann Abraham's first report as Legal Services Ombudsman last year sent a stark message to the profession and the Law Society.

She acknowledged the efforts being made by the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS) to deal more effectively with the volume of complaints.

But she also said: 'Solicitors themselves need to shoulder the responsibility of client care and accept that effective complaints handling - by the firm - is part of it.

Only then is the swelling tide of complaints to the OSS likely to be turned'.Recently, speaking on the third reading of the Access to Justice Bill in the House of Lords, the Lord Chancellor said: 'The effective handling of complaints is important both for those who use legal services and for the long-term health of the legal professions.

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I do not rule out the possibility of legislative change'.The profession has to pay dearly for its failure to deal with complaints at firm level.

At the end of February, the Law Society Council voted an additional £500,000 to help the OSS clear the current backlog of complaints.

However, we must be clear that it is the profession's job to deal with complaints when they arise.

The job of the OSS is to deal with complaints that have not been resolved properly by firms with their clients.During the past few months, the OSS and the Law Society have been working on proposals for a new, radical approach to complaints handling.

The proposals are at present being independently evaluated by consultants.

The Council is scheduled to debate them by June at the latest.We know that 20% of firms give rise to 80% of complaints.

Is it right that the whole profession must bear the cost of the failure of a minority to deal with complaints properly? This will have to be part of our consideration about future arrangements for complaints handling.We live in an age where consumer expectations are rising.

Clients expect a sharper, more efficient service and they are increasingly willing to complain when they do not receive it.

Complaints are rising in all sectors.

The ombudsman is right: the number of complaints that the OSS will have to deal with will continue to rise until the Law Society can persuade and help all firms to deal effectively with complaints.

It follows that the bill for OSS activities will also continue to rise.All firms must realise that it is good business sense to deal with a complaint as quickly and as smoothly as possible.

That way it takes less time, costs less and, indeed, may enable the firm to keep the client and prevent the client telling others of a bad experience.

The Law Society must also provide practical support to help firms meet excellent standards of client care.

In the near future, the Society will be providing sample letters of engagement - written in plain English - that will help firms comply with practice rule 15.However, client care is about more than sending letters.

It is a philosophy.

A philosophy that recognises that the solicitors' profession's raison d'etre is to serve clients and the common good to the best of its ability.If solicitors cannot get complaints handling right, they will pay an ever higher price.

Part of that price is the incalculable cost to the profession's reputation.

Part of that price, too, might be to lose the choice of deciding whether the solicitors' profession remains self-regulated.The Law Society and the profession must work together to rise to the challenge of the consumer culture.IndemnityThe ballot papers on indemnity insurance will be circulated by 14 April.

Please vote so that the Council gets a true picture of what the profession thinks.Deciding on how the profession's indemnity insurance will be provided has been the most difficult issue for the Law Society and for the profession during the past two years.

After full consultation with the profession, the Council sought the views of insurance experts on a number of options.

After careful analysis of the options, the Council decided that retaining a mutual fund was the best for the long-term interest of the profession.

The insurance market fluctuates.

At the moment, many firms might secure attractive premiums initially on the open market.

However, when the market hardens, those same firms could find themselves facing huge increases not necessarily related to their own claims recordI urge all solicitors to vote.

Those who believe that they should be entitled to obtain insurance cover on the open market will, no doubt, feel motivated to vote in favour of the motion.

However, it is equally important that those who agree with the Council's decision should also register their views by voting against.

The Council wants a real picture of what individual members of the profession think.

I can assure you that those views will be taken very seriously.