The Gazette 1996

GAZETTE

JUNE 1996

Resolving Complaints about Solicitors

- THE ROLE OF THE SOCIETY AND WHAT A SOLICITOR

CAN DO TO HELP

I n t r o d u c t i on

The Law S o c i e ty of Ireland (The Law

S o c i e t y) has a statutory duty to

investigate c omp l a i n ts about solicitors

made by memb e rs of the public. The

S o c i e ty takes this duty very seriously

and tries to resolve c omp l a i n ts about

solicitors as s p e e d i ly as possible,

b e l i e v i ng that it is important to do so

in order to maintain the reputation of

the vast majority of memb e rs of the

p r o f e s s i on w h o maintain high

standards of e f f i c i e n cy and courtesy

and c ondu ct their practices with the

utmost integrity.

This article explains the procedures

that are f o l l ow ed by the S o c i e ty wh en

it r e c e i v es a complaint about a

solicitor and also e x p l a i ns what y ou

should do if y ou are the subject of a

complaint, both in your o wn interest,

and in the interest of the p r o f e s s i on as

a wh o l e.

H o w t h e C o m p l a i n ts S y s t em W o r k s

Und er the provisions of the Solicitors

Acts, 1954 to 1 9 94 the Law S o c i e ty

deals with c omp l a i n ts a l l e g i ng

mi s c o ndu c t, inadequate professional

s e r v i c es and overcharging.

The majority of c omp l a i n ts are dealt

with by the Law S o c i e t y 's Comp l a i n ts

Department, usually by an e x c h a n ge

of c o r r e s pond e n c e. If the c omp l a i nt is

not r e s o l v ed at this stage it is

c o n s i d e r ed by the Registrar's

Comm i t t e e.

The Registrar's Comm i t t ee is o ne of

the standing c omm i t t e es of the Law

S o c i e ty Council. The c omm i t t ee me e ts

mon t h ly and c o n s i s ts of 15 memb e r s,

t wo of w h om are lay memb e r s. The

lay memb e rs h a ve the right to ma ke a

report each year, c omme n t i ng on the

manner in wh i ch the L aw S o c i e ty has

dealt with c omp l a i n t s, wh i ch is

pub l i c i s ed and forwarded to the

Minister for Justice.

The f o l l ow i ng are the stages f o l l o w ed

in dealing with a complaint:

S t a g e 1

On receipt of a complaint, the staff in

the Comp l a i n ts Department write to

the solicitor i n v o l v ed asking for

his/her v i e ws on the matter.

It is at

this stage that the majority

complaints

are resolved.

Thus, if y ou

receive a letter from the Professional

Practice Department of the Law

S o c i e ty informing y ou that you are the

subject of a complaint, it is in your

o wn interest to respond promptly to

the Law S o c i e t y 's correspondence, as

in all likelihood the matter can be

resolved to the satisfaction of all

c o n c e r n ed at this point. It is also in

your o wn interest to be as frank as

po s s i b le with the S o c i e t y, and to c o-

operate with the Law S o c i e t y 's staff to

have the matter resolved. If y ou

b e l i e ve the complaint is totally

unfounded, y ou are fully justified in

rejecting the complaint and setting out

the reasons why you are rejecting it.

In mo st c a s es the S o c i e ty will forward

a c o py of your response to the

complainant. In that regard, it is

important to note that the Law S o c i e ty

c l a ims privilege on c o r r e s p o nd e n ce

relating to complaints. Th is is to

protect both the complainant and the

solicitor, so that both parties can

c ommu n i c a te freely with the Law

S o c i e ty in relation to the complaint.

If y ou have any difficulty about

responding to a complaint, consult a

c o l l e a g u e. R ememb er that d e l a ys in

responding to the Law S o c i e t y 's

enquiries can exacerbate the position

mak i ng it more difficult to e f f e ct a

resolution.

In their report about their first year of

i n v o l v eme n t, the t wo lay memb e rs of

the Registrar's Comm i t t ee singled out

as the mo st astounding facet of

c omp l a i n ts about solicitors the failure

of solicitors against w h om allegations

had been made, to respond promptly

to the Law S o c i e ty about the

complaints. If any client is so

dissatisfied about the services being

rendered by his solicitor, that he takes

the trouble to c omp l a in to the Law

S o c i e t y, the Law S o c i e ty has an

obligation to deal with the complaint

and to do so expeditiously. If the

solicitor d o es not co-operate the

situation is greatly exacerbated and

the client b e c om es either more

distrustful or c o n v i n c ed of the

solicitor's wr o n g - d o i n g. In these

•

circumstances the Registrar's

Comm i t t ee will not tolerate any

! failure by a solicitor to respond to the

Law S o c i e t y 's correspondence and

j e v en in circumstances where the

complaint has turned out to be

unjustified, the Law S o c i e ty may

regard it as mi s c o ndu ct for a solicitor

to fail to a n swer the Law S o c i e t y 's

c o r r e s p o nd e n ce promptly and will

i n v o ke its p owe rs against the solicitor

: irrespective of the validity of the

complaint.

S t a g e 2

i A. C o m p l a i n ts of M i s c o n d u ct

If the matter cannot be resolved,

if you fail to respond

to the

Law Society's

correspondence,

the staff in the Comp l a i n ts

Department will refer the

complaint to the Registrar's

Comm i t t ee of the Law S o c i e t y.

The Registrar's Comm i t t ee will

seek to resolve the matter and

will, if necessary, interview y ou

and/or the complainant about the

subject matter of the complaint.

The Comm i t t ee may r e c omme nd a

course of action that y ou should

f o l l ow to r e s o l ve the complaint.

If, in the v i ew of the Comm i t t e e, a

prima facie

c a se of mi s c o ndu ct is

d i s c l o s ed the matter may be

referred to the Disciplinary

Tribunal for investigation.

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