By Neil Rose


An increase in the number of complaints against solicitors will represent a 'success' for the relaunched Legal Complaints Service (LCS), its chief executive has claimed.



Speaking ahead of next week's official launch, Deborah Evans said she hoped that better public awareness of the service will bring in more complaints. This would be evidence, she explained, 'that we are more accessible'.



An increase in complaints may also follow a plan to target miners in the ongoing furore over the handling of their compensation claims. The LCS is bidding for access to the Department of Trade and Industry database of miners so that it can contact them all to explain if they may have a complaint and invite them to local workshops. 'I hope the profession would think it better to get this all done and dusted, rather than drag it out,' Ms Evans said.



In total, the service received around 18,500 complaints last year, while a further 8,000 matters were 'quick' complaints resolved without the need to open a file.



In a sign of the greater independence the rebranding aims to reinforce, Ms Evans criticised Bar Council lobbying - supported by the Law Society's representative arm - for amendments to the Legal Services Bill that would allow the proposed office of legal complaints (OLC) to delegate to frontline regulators the handling of consumer complaints (see [2007] Gazette, 11 January, 4).



'For the OLC to achieve a high level of consumer confidence, it is absolutely vital that there is no dilution of its remit,' she said. 'The bar has a good record of complaints-handling, but it deals with a relatively small number of complaints. It has also not operated under a regulator in a target-driven environment, nor been subject to the same level of scrutiny as the LCS.'



Next month, the LCS will publish a three-year improvement agenda - taking it through to when the OLC assumes the role - and will push ahead with plans revealed last year to make public the complaints record of every law firm (see [2006] Gazette, 7 September, 1). Ms Evans is taking counsel's opinion on whether this is possible.



A Law Society spokeswoman said: 'We agree it is important clients know of their rights to complain about the service they have received from their solicitor, if they think it is well below standard, and there should be no barriers to them doing so. However, we do not think that an increased number of complaints is a good thing - it is wrong to suggest it would be beneficial for every small grumble to turn into a formal complaint and we encourage solicitors to address dissatisfaction at an early stage.'



Ms Evans said the LCS is 'equally pursuing a prevention agenda' to help law firms ward off complaints in the first place, adding: 'Solicitors should be proud to have a good, solid complaints-handling service.'