Call for complaints against lawyers from non-clients to be accepted
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has stepped up its campaign for the legal services ombudsman to accept complaints about lawyers from people other than clients, by publishing a series of real-life “horror stories”.
The 37 case studies include sorry tales of house purchases falling through, harassment over alleged debts, violations of privacy and abusive treatment in the court room.
One woman said she was “intimidated and frightened” by her ex-husband’s solicitor’s colleague, who spoke aggressively to her in the private room where she was sitting because there was a history of domestic violence.
Third parties made 2,184 complaints to the ombudsman in 2012-2013.
The panel, which acts as an independent adviser to the Legal Services Board, first called for the ombudsman’s remit to be widened last June.
Elisabeth Davies, chair of the panel, says: “The panel accepts that not all third-party complaints should be investigated, but the current blanket ban on all such complaints is plainly wrong.”
Chief Legal Ombudsman Adam Sampson said his office would be working on proposals for dealing with the issue over the coming months.
