Frequently asked questions

I want to complain about the professional body’s handling of my complaint. What information should I send to your Office?

We will need to know the contact details of the lawyer or firm that you complained about, and the date of the professional body’s final decision letter. We also need to know why you were dissatisfied with the professional body’s handling of your complaint. It would assist us if you could send us a copy of the professional body’s final decision letter. We will not normally require any further information from you, because all the information and evidence relating to your complaint will be contained on the professional body’s file. If we do require information from you, we will write and ask you to supply it. If you have further information or evidence, which you did not disclose to the professional body, you can send it to us. However, it is important to bear in mind that the Ombudsman’s role is to consider the way that the professional body handled your complaint. She cannot criticise the professional body for failing to act on information that you did not make available to them at the time of their investigation.

I didn’t realise that there is a 3 month time limit for complaining to the Ombudsman. I have missed the deadline. Is there anything I can do?

If you miss the 3 month deadline for applications to this Office, the Ombudsman will not normally consider your case. However, she may extend this deadline if she thinks that there are ‘special reasons’ for doing so. ‘Special reasons’ are reasons outside your control that prevented you from making an earlier application. For example, you or a member of your family may have been seriously ill, or you may have suffered a bereavement. Ignorance of the 3 month time limit is not normally considered to be a ‘special reason’. However, if the professional body did not tell you about your right to refer the matter to the Ombudsman, or about the 3 month deadline, this might be a ‘special reason’. If the issues raised by your complaint are particularly serious, or raise highly sensitive or important issues for the legal profession, she may consider this to be a ‘special reason’.

When can I expect to receive the Ombudsman’s report on my complaint?

The Ombudsman can deal with some cases fairly quickly, but if your case is complicated or we need more information, it may take longer. In 2007–2008, 100% of cases were dealt with within 6 months of receipt of the professional body’s file.

What were the outcomes of previous cases considered by the Ombudsman?

In 2007-2008, the Ombudsman issued 1864 reports. In almost 29% of these cases, she made a finding against the professional body. She made a formal criticism in 130 cases. In 137 cases, she recommended that the professional body pay compensation to the complainant. In 37 cases, she recommended that the professional body pay compensation and reconsider. In 231 cases, she recommended that the professional body reconsider. Please see the table below

	LCS	SRA	Law Society	BSB		CLC		SLS
	07/08	07/08	06/07	07/08	06/07	07/08	06/07	07/08	06/07
Criticism	91	31	118	7	8	0	1	1	4
Lawyer to pay compensation	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
PB to pay compensation	102	18	176	11	3	3	2	3	3
PB to recondsider & pay compensation	24	9	52	1	0	1	1	2	0
PB to reconsider	198	24	189	8	16	1	8	0	2
PB to enforce powers and pay compensation	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0

Total	415	82	537	27	27	5	12	6	9
Grand total	535

BSB = Bar Standards Board
CLC = Council for Licensed Conveyancers
SLS = Scottish Law Society

Will the Ombudsman investigate my original complaint about the lawyer?

The Ombudsman’s primary role is to investigate the way that the professional bodies deal with complaints. If she is dissatisfied with the professional body’s handling of a complaint, she will normally recommend that they re-investigate the matter. This is because it is the professional body's responsibility to investigate complaints about lawyers. If she decided to investigate herself, she would in effect be doing the professional body's work (and potential improvements to their complaints-handling process may be lost). The Ombudsman will, however, investigate the original complaint about the lawyer if she considers there are exceptional circumstances where it would be appropriate.