In one recent complaint investigation, it emerged that there was a clear reason why the solicitor was not resolving the complaint himself.'The complainant was a large man, and the solicitor was small,' explains Nick Dyson, senior partner of Wetherby law firm Hart & Company, who was conciliating on behalf of the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS).

'It turned out that when the complainant had visited him in his office, he had taken a swing at the solicitor.

I think he was a former boxer.

The solicitor told me he used to duck into an alley to avoid him when he saw him around town.'In the best of all possible worlds, firms would handle all complaints adequately themselves.

But the real world is different and thousands of complaints reach the OSS each year, although the number is now dropping sharply.But two schemes that work above the level of the firm, but below the OSS, head off at least some of these either by coaxing a reluctant firm to get its procedures into gear, or by counselling the claimant so that he redirects the complaint to a different target.

They cannot investigate misconduct, but they do play a part in resolving or heading off complaints of poor service.

Last year there were 9,637.Mr Dyson is part of one of these schemes -- a network of 220 local conciliation officers -- both practising a nd retired solicitors hired by the OSS to spend part of their time getting to the bottom of some of the more intractable complaints in their areas.Their strength, says John Saville, senior caseworker for the OSS, is to be able to take unusual or problem cases, 'those cases in which there are difficulties which cannot easily be overcome in the office and which are taking a disproportionate amount of time'.He says the OSS picks cases for them where face-to-face meetings might be needed, and where there is some prospect of conciliation.

He would like to recruit more people, particularly in rural areas.Mr Dyson, in common with anybody who has ever handled a complaint, says 'the longer it goes on, the more angry people are'.

And he concedes that by the time complaints reach him, they have been to Leamington Spa and referred back down.

'But they are fresher now than they used to be.

They are now usually with me three weeks to six months after reaching the OSS.'In few cases are relations as soured as with the former boxer, but often feelings run high.

Mr Dyson remembers telling one complainant that the solicitor involved had just committed suicide.

'He expressed satisfaction,' Mr Dyson says sadly.Mr Dyson says that when a complaint is referred to him, 'first I have to get my head down and understand the file'.

He says that often the most important task is to listen carefully to the client and try to find what the complaint really is.

'It is often hidden behind many other complaints that are not relevant,' he says.He then asks the solicitor for a response, and gives them 14 days.

His view of complaints handling in firms has been jaundiced by his experiences, he says.

'Several times I have had to ring them as the deadline approached.

I tell them I am about to recommend a judgment in default.'He has found a few cases where the complainant is immovable.

'They can be unwilling to understand the process, and believe that everybody -- me included -- is part of the same process against them,' he says.But in five out of six of the cases he has investigated, there has been a conciliation, often with the conciliation officer getting the two sides talking again.Often, the root cause is simply a misunderstanding.

The solicitor dodging the boxer was a classic case -- a sole practitioner who had not had a holiday for 15 years, and had worked every weekend.

He had failed to handle the complaint because he was too busy fire-fighting to explain.That is sadly not unusual, says Mr Dyson.

The solicitor had won compensation for his client in a civil action, but it had been delayed for seven months while the costs were taxed.

'So it was not the solicitor's fault, but that had not been explained to the client.'The second of these schemes is a less structured network of conciliation run by local law societies.

In one way, local law societies may be better placed to conciliate than the OSS, which as a 'policeman' is not usually welcomed with open arms by firms, says Paul Pharoah, a partner in Martineau Johnson in Birmingham.

This year, he is dealing with complaints locally on behalf of the Birmingham Law Society.'The professional goodwill I can bring to the case might be greater than if the OSS investigates,' he says.

On the other hand, he concedes, there is a risk that the public will see it as part of an old-boy network when a solicitor is investigating somebody he is clearly knows personally.

'But I always make that transparent,' Mr Pharoah says.The service offered by local societies differs enormously according to where you are in the co untry.

Peter Johnson, head of client care and compliance at the OSS, says: 'At the moment about 60 of the 125 local societies do something.

Only some of the bigger ones are resourced up.'Birmingham has a permanent office, which is listed in the telephone book.

However, most local law societies would be swamped if they publicised their schemes.Devon & Exeter Law Society has probably the most formalised process.

It advertises its scheme with leaflets and flyers.

In the first place, complainants are sent back to the firm and told how to complain under Law Society practice rule 15.

But if that fails to produce a solution, it has a panel of 'wise men' -- local law society officers, who can act as conciliators.They have no enforcement powers at all.

While the OSS local conciliators can send a recommendation back up to the OSS, the local law societies' only weapon is persuasion and goodwill.Mr Pharoah, who also sits on the main Law Society Council, says that even in Birmingham 'the lack of resources are the overwhelming difficulty'.The local society schemes could be improved with money spent.

'I'm coming to the conclusion that we need to move on,' he says.

'It doesn't really take account of the improvements in the way society in general deals with consumer complaints.

It's now a science in its own right.'But in many areas resources would have to come from the Law Society, which could save on the OSS budget by increasing the effectiveness of conciliators.

This year it has surveyed activity among the local societies, and is scheduled to publish its findings at the local law societies' secretaries and presidents conference in Birmingham next month.Local law societies get no central reimbursement for their work.

Conciliators such as Mr Dyson do slightly better -- they get £12 an hour for casework, plus £8 an hour for travelling.But Mr Dyson has discovered that there is another reward for solicitors on top of the satisfaction in solving a tough case -- they learn from others' mistakes about how to avoid giving rise to complaints in their own work.He says: 'Procedures in our firm have undoubtedly tightened up as a result of my experiences.'