A solicitor deals directly with clients and enters into contracts with them. This means if the client does not pay, the solicitor has the right to sue for their fees. It also means the client can sue for breach of contract if the solicitor fails to do the work.
A client can sue the solicitor for negligence in and out of court work. In Griffiths v. Dawson (1993) the solicitors for the plaintiff (claimant) failed to make the correct application in divorce proceedings against her husband. Because of this she lost out financially and the solicitors were ordered to pay her £21,000 in compensation. Also, the case of Hall v. Simons (2000) showed us that a solicitor who presents a case in court can be sued for negligent advocacy.
Other people affected by the solicitor’s negligence may also have the right to sue in certain circumstances. In White v. Jones (1995) a father wanted to make a will leaving each of his daughters £9,000. He wrote to his solicitors instructing them to draw up a will to include this, which they received in July 1986. The solicitors had done nothing about this request by the time of his death in September 1986. As a result the daughters did not inherit any money, but they were able to each sue the solicitor for the £9,000 they had lost.
Complaints Procedure
In-House Complaints – All solicitors firms must have a complaints procedure to deal with dissatisfied clients. If the matter cannot be solved in-house, then the client has the right to complain to the legal ombudsman.
Office for Legal Complaints – The Legal Services Act 2007 created the Office for Legal Complaints which is completely independent from any other sector of the legal profession. The office has set up the Legal Ombudsman to deal with complaints about poor service by solicitors and other legal professionals.
The Legal Ombudsman – When the Office for Legal Complaints receives a complaint they will look at the facts and weigh up both sides of the story. If the Legal Ombudsman agrees that a lawyer’s service was unsatisfactory they can ask the lawyer and their firm to –
- Apologise to the client,
- Give back any documents the client might need,
- Put things right if more work can correct what went wrong,
- Refund or reduce the legal fees, or,
- Pay compensation of up to £30,000.
Solicitors’ Regulation Authority – they investigate complaints about the professional misconduct of solicitors. If there is evidence of serious professional misconduct they can put the case before the Solicitor’s Disciplinary Tribunal. If the tribunal upholds the complaint they can fine or reprimand the solicitor, and in more serious cases they can even suspend or strike a solicitor from the Roll.
See http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/research-decisions/ombudsman-decisions.html for case studies showing the range of issues the Legal Ombudsman deals with and the decisions they make
Complaints Against Solicitors Activity
Explain who the following people should go to with their complaint and the possible outcome –
- Carly shocked to see that she has been charged £2000 for making a will.
- Lisa is upset because her solicitor told her she was stupid.
- Sean’s solicitor has missed a deadline in his employment tribunal case.
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