Outcome of the complaint

We asked respondents what they wanted to happen as a result of their complaint. Various options were provided, and some respondents gave several different answers. These are shown in Table 28.

Table 28

What did you want to happen as a result of your complaint? N %

The mistakes made put right 161 38.8 Financial compensation 160 38.6 An apology from my solicitor / solicitor’s firm 159 38.3 A disciplinary action taken against the solicitor 158 38.1 My fees reduced / waived 154 37.1 An explanation about what went wrong 132 31.8 An assurance that what went wrong would not happen again 74 17.8 Other* 51 12.3 Don’t know 3 0.7

* ‘Other’ included:- information requested from the solicitor to be supplied, the solicitor’s professional body to be aware of his bad behaviour, recovery of my moneys.

The most common responses were:-

1. the mistakes made put right (39%)

2. financial compensation ( 39%)

3. an apology from the solicitor/ firm (38%)

4. disciplinary action against the solicitor (38%)

5. the fees reduced or waived (37%)

6. an explanation about what went wrong (32%).

Only three respondents said that they did not know what they wanted as a result of their complaint.

It is clear from these responses that in many cases, the outcome which the complainer wanted may well have been achieved at an earlier stage had the complaint been disposed of by the solicitor’s firm. For example, in those cases where the complainer simply wanted an explanation or an apology, it is possible that had this been established, and dealt with, at the start, a formal complaint could have been avoided.

We then asked respondents to tell us the actual outcome of their complaint. The responses are set out in Table 29. It should be noted here that some respondents gave more than one answer to this question. While just under one-quarter (23%) of respondents said that their complaint was not upheld, the highest percentage (24%) of respondents answered ‘other’. The answers in this category were varied, but some common patterns emerged. Around one-fifth of these respondents gave answers which could have fallen under one of the other categories. For example, some said that compensation had been awarded, but that they felt this was insufficient or “derogatory”. Others said that the compensation awarded had not yet been paid. Some said their complaint had been upheld, but the disciplinary action taken had not been severe enough.

Approximately 10% of those answering ‘other’ said that the matter had not been resolved, and a small number simply answered ‘nothing’. These figures provide some cause for concern, given that the complaints of all respondents in the sample had been closed by the Law Society. It is possible that these complaints had been resolved, but that the complainers did not understand what had happened.

It is interesting that in only 3% of cases did the solicitor/solicitor’s firm do or pay for some work to be done to put things right, when as we saw above, this was what the greatest proportion actually wanted to happen. Likewise, only 12% of respondents received an apology from the solicitor/solicitor’s firm, despite the fact that this was what 38% said they wanted.

The other most common responses to the question were that compensation was paid (16%), the solicitor’s fees were reduced, and that an apology was received. In 8% of cases, disciplinary action was taken against the solicitor, and the solicitor’s fees were refunded in a further 8% of cases.

Table 29

Which of the following best describes the settlement

of your complaint? N %

My complaint was not upheld 97 23.4 I received a payment of compensation from the solicitor/solicitor’s firm 66 15.9 The fees I had to pay to the solicitor/solicitor’s firm were reduced 60 14.5 I received an apology from the solicitor / solicitor’s firm 50 12.0 I received an explanation about what went wrong 41 9.9 Disciplinary action was taken against my solicitor 35 8.4 The solicitor’s fees were refunded 32 7.7 The solicitor/solicitor’s firm did/paid for some work to be done 13 3.1 Other* 101 24.3

* ‘Other’ included :- Many people said that the complaint was upheld, but the sanction was inadequate. Some said the matter had not been resolved, or that nothing had happened. Many answers related to the respondent’s own particular problem, for example, payment of the legacy to the legatee.

It should be pointed out here that the outcome which the complainer wanted may not have been possible for the Law Society to provide. While the Society has the power to reduce or waive the solicitor’s fees, or order him/her to rectify any mistakes, or to pay the complainer compensation, it cannot, for example, compel a solicitor to apologise to the complainer.

Moreover, the Law Society can only discipline a solicitor where the matter can be categorised as one of conduct. If the complaint is in fact one of IPS, the Law Society has power only to compensate the complainer, rather than to censure the solicitor.

Very few respondents (10%) said that they had received an explanation about what had gone wrong. The answer to this question may have depended on how it was understood by respondents. If the respondent was looking for an explanation as to why they had lost their legal case, for example, this would not be provided by the Law Society, as this is not the Society’s function.

The Law Society’s role is to provide complainers with an adequate explanation as to the decision taken on the complaint. In each case where there has been a written investigation, an explanatory letter is sent to the complainer. Attached to this letter is a copy of the reporter’s report and, where appropriate, a copy of the full committee decision. The complainer is told what the heads of complaint were, whether or not they were justified, and why. S/he is also told which, if any, sanction applies. Despite this, however, it may be that some complainers find this information hard to understand, and accordingly do not consider that they received an explanation about what went wrong.

We then asked respondents how happy they were with the outcome of their complaint. Almost half (45%) said that they were very unhappy with the outcome of their complaint. A further 11% said that they were unhappy with the outcome. Fewer than one-third of respondents said that they were happy with the outcome of their complaint. (9% saying that they were very happy, and 18% that they were happy). (Table 30)

Table 30

(...) how happy were you with the outcome of your complaint? N %

Very happy 36 8.78. Happy 76 18.3 Indifferent 49 11.8 Unhappy 47 11.3 Very unhappy 187 45.1 NO RESPONSE 20 4.8 TOTAL 415 100

We then analysed the data to find out whether the actual outcome achieved had any influence on how happy the respondents were with the outcome. This analysis produced some interesting results. These can be seen from Table 31. As might be expected, those who were most unhappy were those whose complaint was not upheld. Of those whose complaint was not upheld, 92% were unhappy or very unhappy with the outcome of their complaint.

Those who said their fees had been refunded were the happiest of all respondents, with 60% saying that they were happy or very happy with the outcome. This was closely followed by those who had received an apology ( 56% were either very happy or happy), those who received an explanation (51%), and those who had their fees reduced (51%).

It is interesting to note that in those cases where disciplinary action was taken against the solicitor, one-half of respondents were unhappy or very unhappy with the outcome. Of those who received compensation, 38% were unhappy / very unhappy with the outcome.

As we have seen, many of those who answered ‘other’, when asked about the outcome, stated that the solicitor had been disciplined, or that compensation had been paid, but were still unhappy with this. This was generally because they felt that the compensation awarded or disciplinary action taken was inadequate. It is likely, therefore, that this explains why such a considerable number of respondents whose complaint was upheld were nevertheless unhappy with the outcome.

Table 31

Happiness with the outcome

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% not upheld disciplinary action compensation fee reduced received explanation received apology fee refunded work paid for

Percentage of respondents