The Gazette 1994

G A Z E T TE

J UNE 1994

P R E S I D E N T ' S

M E S S A G E

E v e r y p r a c t i ce s h o u l d c o n s i d er a

c omp l a i n t s - h a n d l i ng p r o c e d u re

In my address to the half-yearly

general meeting of the Society on 12

May last, at the commencement of the

Society's annual conference in the

Connemara Coast Hotel, I suggested

that in the context of the Solicitors

(Amendment) Bill, 1994, which

provides for greater transparency in

the manner in which the Society

conducts its regulatory duties and the

manner in which solicitors conduct

their dealings with clients, that

the time has come for all firms to

consider an "in-house" complaints

procedure.

In the course of my address I said

that: "One of the essential hallmarks

of a profession is that it is able and

willing to regulate itself by setting

rules and standards of conduct and by

disciplining those who transgress. The

powers and duties of self-regulation

may be enshrined variously in

legislation or in professional or ethical

rules or regulations accepted as

binding by that profession's

membership. Whatever the origins of

a profession's self-regulation, there

must be a common objective to

promote effective self-discipline for

the good of the profession and in the

public interest.

"The emphasis should be on the

external 'raison d'etre' of service of

the public and the interests of justice,

rather than on any internal 'raison

d'etre' of the self-interest of the

profession itself. If that emphasis is

seen by the public to exist, the public

in turn will have more confidence in

the legal profession and will

distinguish it from other organisations

which are sometimes perceived as

putting their members first.

"As befits a self-regulating profession

I would suggest that it is essential that

each solicitor's practice should

operate its own complaints-handling

procedure. Some practices already

have such a procedure in place. Such a

procedure would ensure that, from the

Michael V. O 'Mahony

outset, the client would know that if

any problem arose in relation to the

legal services being provided, there

would be in place a means of

resolving the problem without the

outside involvement of the Society.

"The Law Society of England and

Wales has had, since May 1991, a

statutory 'client care' regulation (the

so-called 'Rule 15'). The English

regulation provides that every

principal in private practice must

operate a complaints-handling

procedure which,

inter alia,

ensures

that clients are informed whom to

approach in the event of any problem

with the service provided. This

'Rule 15' further provides that

every solicitor in practice must,

unless it is inappropriate in the

circumstances -

(a) ensure that clients know the name

and status of the person

responsible for the day-to-day

conduct of the matter and the

principal responsible for its

overall supervision;

(b) ensure that clients know whom to

approach in the event of any

problem with the service

provided; and

relevant times given any

appropriate information as to the

issues raised and the progress of

the matter.

"The adoption here, by similar

regulation, of such a 'client care'

requirement would, I believe, reduce

significantly the number of client

complaints made to the Law Society.

Such a requirement would more

expeditiously address the main causes

of complaint - delay and failure to

communicate adequately - and at the

same time would more likely ensure

that the problem at issue did not fester

and result in an irretrievable

breakdown in the particular

solicitor/client relationship. Once it is

accepted that even in the best-run

offices problems can arise which

cause upset and annoyance to the

reasonable client, it makes good sense

to provide a procedure for resolving

such problems by conciliation

at an early stage, if and when they

do arise.

"In engaging in this critical self-

analysis of our self-regulatory

profession, it is important to remind

ourselves and the wider public that the

vast majority of practising solicitors

are honest and provide a good and

efficient service to their clients. The

Society receives in the order of 1300

complaints per year from dissatisfied

clients of solicitors. With some 4,000

practising solicitors in the country, it

is reasonable to assume that the level

of complaints represents far less than

1% of legal matters actually being

handled at any one time throughout

the country. But while bad news will

make headlines, good news tends not

to do so. The solicitor should thus see

himself or herself as a custodian of the

good name of all solicitors.

"In concluding, let me summarise by

observing that the best form of self-

interest is in demonstrating an interest

(Continued on page 178)

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