Complaints

What is a Solicitor?

A solicitor will have undergone extensive training, usually comprising a University degree, post graduate training and a series of examinations. He or she will then be admitted to the Roll of Solicitors.

Your Solicitor's Role

A solicitor's main role is to help you, the client, deal with disputes and agreements. A solicitor and client need to work closely together in order to achieve the best possible outcome. Your solicitor, however cannot guarantee a result in your favour.

What it costs

Costs will vary according to the nature and complexity of the work invloved. In some cases you may be eligible for Legal Aid, although this is only a loan and you may have to pay some or all of the money back. Another way of paying costs involves a conditional fee agreement (no win, no fee). This means that if you lose your case you only have to pay certain expenses and not your solicitors costs. If you win, the other side will usually be ordered to pay your costs. You will pay your solicitor a success fee (a percentage of the money that you win).

A contract with your solicitor

• Confirm the terms of your instructions
• To set out which members of the firm will be handling your file
• Set out the terms upon which you are to be charged and how much you will be advised on the cost
• To give you the name of the partner in the firm whom you may write if you are unhappy with the service

Like all providers of services to the public, solicitors are extremely conscious of the need to provide consistently high service levels to clients.

For this reason we take complaint handling very seriously. Since September 1999 it has been a requirement of the Solicitors Practice Rules (Rule 15) for every firm of solicitors to have and to follow a documented procedure for handling client complaints.

Poor client service - what to do

1. Write to the solicitor acting for you by name, giving full details of whatever is giving you cause for concern. Give your solicitor two weeks from receipt of your letter in which to reply in writing, giving his or her response to your points.
2. When you have received this response you should consider whether it adequately deals with your concern, and whether you are satisfied that the matter has been dealt with.
3. If you do not receive a reply within the two weeks, or if the reply which you do receive is unacceptable to you then you should send a copy of your original letter, plus the reply if received, to the firms Client Care or Complaints Partner again requesting a reply in writing within 2 weeks.
4. When you receive the reply from the Client Care Partner you should carefully read its contents. Remember that the person who writes to you will be concerned with the fact that the firm has a dissatisfied client.
5. 
   
   1. If you are still dissatisified with the service, then your remedy is the same as any other supplier of goods and services- you may take your business elsewhere. Provided that you have paid your fees up to date, or if you are legally aided, then your solicitor must release your files to your new solicitor.
   2. If you feel that your complaint has not been dealt with properly and wish to take the matter further, you will need to contact the Consumer Complaints Service, or C.S.S. Please note that the C.S.S. is only concerned with complaints made by clients about their solicitor. If you wish to complain about someone else's solcitor you will beed to take the advice of and receive the support of your own solicitor before doing so.

Professional Negligence

If your solicitor has been negligent in law, ie has given you incorrect or inappropriate legal advice (as opposed to poor client service) then you may have a civil claim, in which case you must consult another solicitor who may or may not be a member of the Solicitors Negilgence Panel.

The Derby and District Law Society trust that you will have found this information useful.