Around two-thirds of complaints about poor service closed by the Law Society last year were upheld in whole or part, it emerged last week.

The fourth report from the Society's independent commissioner, former MI5 chief Sir Stephen Lander, showed that 684 complaints were upheld and 3,536 conciliated - making 4,220 in total - while 2,212 were rejected.

A further 3,410 complaints did not reach a conclusion for several reasons, such as being outside the Law Society's jurisdiction and being referred back to the solicitor under practice rule 15.

Sir Stephen wrote: 'These figures set in context not only the assertion by some in the profession that the majority of complaints are unfounded, but also the allegation that the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors [now Consumer Complaints Service] favours solicitors in its handling of complaints.'

The statistics also showed that of those cases that a caseworker could not resolve and so went to adjudication, nine out of ten were found in whole or in part in favour of the complainant.

'There are, I suggest, lessons here for the solicitor who pursues his case all the way to a review panel,' Sir Stephen wrote.

Sir Stephen told members there has been 'significant progress' in complaints handling since his last report in September 2003, especially in the pace of dealing with complaints.

In recent months, the Law Society has generally closed more cases than it has received.

However, he said there was 'still considerable ground to cover' when it came to quality and consistency of decision making.

He also recommended expanding the local conciliation officer scheme, in which local solicitors meet complainants in an effort to resolve their problem, after research showed it was successful.

There are 216 solicitors on the panel and they handle more than 700 complaints annually.

Neil Rose