Society bullish on complaints goal

TARGETS: Chief executive Paraskeva takes up the cudgels on figures and declares 'determination to reach them'The Law Society this week came out fighting over the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS), saying that new government complaints-handling targets - which, if missed, could see the appointment of an independent complaints commissioner next year - were 'tough but achievable'.

Last week, David Lock, parliamentary secretary at the Lord Chancellor's Department, unveiled new complaints-handling targets for the OSS and expressed his disappointment with the Society's failure to hit three out of four of its agreed targets for complaints handling last year.Although the OSS managed to reduce outstanding cases to below 6,000 by the end of last year in line with agreed targets, those dealing with the quality of its decisions, time taken to deal with cases, and the numbers of cases referred to the Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO) were generally missed.

In a letter to Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva, Mr Lock said that although he accepted there was a strong commitment by President Michael Napier and Ms Paraskeva to improve the OSS, the government viewed self-regulation as a 'privilege not a right'.Mr Lock wrote: 'The jury is out on the profession's ability to handle its own complaints' procedures.' A decision on whether to appoint a legal services complaints commissioner would be taken in July, following the LSO's annual report, he said.

The OSS hit its quality target, of 64% of cases handled to the satisfaction of the LSO, in only one of the past six months.

However, figures showing LSO satisfaction rates in those specific cases dealt with by the OSS after September 1999 - when it received a cash and resource injection from the Law Society - rose to as high as 84% last August (with a low of 71% in November).

Ms Paraskeva said that dealing with the 'large number of cases last year that had been open for a long time' had caused a delay which meant 'it was always going to be very difficult' to meet the 64% target.

The newly announced targets would see the outstanding caseload for inadequate professional service and conduct complaints remaining below 4,500, about its current level.

Case turnaround targets would see 50% of cases dealt with within three months, rising to 100% within 18 months (last year it was 90% dealt with within three months and 100% within five months).

The OSS will also be expected to reach a 70% satisfaction rate on all cases referred to the LSO in the first half of the year, rising to 75% thereafter.

Ms Paraskeva said that although the new targets were demanding, the Law Society was determined to 'do all we can to reach them'.

Mr Napier said client care was 'the key' and that the Society was continuing with its ambitious programme to help solicitors deal with complaints more effectively.

Solicitors should tackle complaints moreefficiently in-house and be prepared 'to say sorry' if necessary, he added.Sue Allen