The Solicitors Regulation Authority has appointed an external body to oversee its complaints-handling service
The Independent Complaint Resolution Service will provide independent oversight of the SRA’s service to the public, will consider and respond to complaints that cannot be resolved internally and will have powers to carry out a review where necessary.
Members of the public with a grievance about the way their legal issue has been handled will have to complain to the SRA and exhaust internal remedies before their case can be referred on to the new overseer.
The Service, also known as the Independent Complaints Reviewer, provides a similar role for the Land Registry, the Pension Protection Fund and the Charity Commission. It is composed of two reviewers, Jodi Berg and Elizabeth Derrington, who are both solicitors with extensive complaints resolution experience.
SRA chief executive, Antony Townsend said: “It’s essential that the SRA deals effectively and promptly with complaints about its services, and that members of the public and the profession have confidence that such complaints will be dealt with fairly and transparently.
“The appointment of an independent reviewer will help us achieve that.”
A new, more user-friendly complaints-handling system was introduced in April.
