LeO plans to make law firms pay £200, £750 or £1,500 depending on the stage at which the complaint is resolved. Law firms could escape the fee only if the complaint was resolved in the lawyer’s favour or dismissed and LeO was satisfied the firm had taken all reasonable steps to resolve it at the first-tier stage.
However, CILEX president Sara Fowler expressed ‘concerns about firms being driven to make unwarranted payments over fears that a complaint going to the ombudsman will prove even more costly’. She called for ‘proportionate case fees and a fair process’.
Law Society president Mark Evans warned there was ‘a real risk that the proposals will encourage firms to settle complaints regardless of merit, simply because it is cheaper’.
LeO’s consultation, ‘Changes to scheme rules, case fees, and publication of ombudsman decisions’, closed last week.
