The Law Society of England and Wales cautions against regulatory
overreach in its response to the Solicitors Regulation
Authority's (SRA) consultation on proposed changes to first-tier
complaints handling.*
Research shows that 87 per cent of consumers were satisfied with
the legal services they received. Such high levels of
satisfaction suggest that existing problems only affect a small
proportion of consumers and the Law Society questions the need
for extensive reforms.**
Law Society president Richard Atkinson said: “We support
necessary and proportionate improvements to first-tier complaints
handling. However, this must not lead to overregulation by the
SRA through unnecessary rule changes or duplication of work
already covered by the Legal Ombudsman (LeO).***
“Little evidence has been produced to demonstrate the necessity
for the proposed changes to the SRA rules or the publication of
timeliness data. A convincing explanation that regulatory changes
would benefit consumers is also lacking.
“In fact, some of the proposed changes would increase regulatory
costs for firms and consumers, reduce efficiency and potentially
hinder access to justice.
“Firms are required to inform clients about their right to
complain and how to do so at the time of engagement. We agree it
is good practice that firms should provide complaints procedure
information on request or when a formal complaint arises and most
firms already do this therefore there is no need to change the
SRA rules.
“We support the SRA's proposal to require complaints information
to be clear, accessible, and prominently displayed on firms'
websites. We do not, however, support requiring information about
the complaints process being given at the end of every matter, as
this may cause practical difficulties and lead to unwarranted
complaints.
“Publishing firm-level timeliness data raises serious concerns
due to problems with contextualisation and the time it takes to
resolve complex complaints. This can distort average timescales
and place disproportionate burden on law firms.
“Similarly, the Model Complaints Resolution Procedure put forward
risks imposing a rigid, one-size-fits-all model on the
profession. Flexibility needs to be built in any new procedure
and there needs to be co-ordination between the SRA and
LeO.”
The Law Society also supports the SRA developing a single,
practical complaints handling guidance document and recognises
the value of having a universal definition of ‘a complaint'.
However, it considers the Legal Services Board's (LSB) suggested
definition to be inadequate and any definition that is adopted
should be clear and practical to both legal service providers and
consumers.
Notes to editors
