Right and wrong

John Alcock expressed the view that the Ombudsman's Casebook made depressing reading (see [2000] Gazette, 2 November, 16).

It was his letter I found depressing.

How he could imagine that the solicitor's response to the complaint referred to in the Ombudsman's Casebook could be justified - no matter how much in the right the firm of solicitors in question may have been - serves only to demonstrate how far the profession has to go to achieve an acceptable approach to complaints handling.

The solicitors' response in that case was rude and offensive.

I fear Mr Alcock's attitude is common.

It helps explain why the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors continues to receive a high level of complaints.

There are ways of apologising that do not amount to admissions of guilt.

It is often the mistaken idea that complaints are accusations that involve guilt or innocence that prevent them being dealt with in an appropriate way.

Every commercial organisation finds it possible to apologise when a complaint is made, irrespective of the rights or wrongs of the matter - what makes it so difficult for solicitors to do the same?

Mike Frith, compliance officer, OSS