Ethics and professional
conduct
,Complaint process
• All firms have to appoint two types of compliance officers:
i. Compliance officer for legal practice (COLP)
ii. Compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA)
• For sole practitioners and small firms these roles may be fulfilled by the same person.
• Me Supervisor Compliance Officer (can also come directly to them if necessary) SRA
• Dissatisfied client with complaint firm’s own complaint procedure/ legal ombudsman SRA
• Consequences: Financial penalties + damaging reputation/ impacting business
• Common client complaints every year:
i. Delay
ii. Failure to advise
iii. Excessive costs
,Ethical behaviour
• Ethical doing the right thing isn’t synonymous with legal
• Solicitors follow same ethical principles as everyone else + additional ethical obligations
• Some general ethical principles apply differently to solicitors like not reporting their clien
breaking law
• Today focus is on consequences of behavior act in a way (core standards + personal judgm
which produces the best outcome
• The SRA’s focus is on behavior or breaches which it considers to be ‘serious’.
, Complaint procedure
• A solicitor must ensure that clients are informed in writing at the time of engagement about:
(a) their right to complain about the solicitor’s services and charges;
(b) how complaints may be made and to whom; and
(c) any right they have to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman and when they can
such complaint.
• Many complaints will be resolved using the firm’s own complaints procedure. In most ca
dissatisfied client should use this procedure first, before taking more formal action.
• If the complaint hasn’t been resolved within 8 weeks, the solicitor must inform the clie
writing of his right to complaint to the legal ombudsman, or if the complaint procedure has
exhausted that the solicitor cannot settle it and to avail an ADR approved body and whethe
solicitor is agreeable to using it.
conduct
,Complaint process
• All firms have to appoint two types of compliance officers:
i. Compliance officer for legal practice (COLP)
ii. Compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA)
• For sole practitioners and small firms these roles may be fulfilled by the same person.
• Me Supervisor Compliance Officer (can also come directly to them if necessary) SRA
• Dissatisfied client with complaint firm’s own complaint procedure/ legal ombudsman SRA
• Consequences: Financial penalties + damaging reputation/ impacting business
• Common client complaints every year:
i. Delay
ii. Failure to advise
iii. Excessive costs
,Ethical behaviour
• Ethical doing the right thing isn’t synonymous with legal
• Solicitors follow same ethical principles as everyone else + additional ethical obligations
• Some general ethical principles apply differently to solicitors like not reporting their clien
breaking law
• Today focus is on consequences of behavior act in a way (core standards + personal judgm
which produces the best outcome
• The SRA’s focus is on behavior or breaches which it considers to be ‘serious’.
, Complaint procedure
• A solicitor must ensure that clients are informed in writing at the time of engagement about:
(a) their right to complain about the solicitor’s services and charges;
(b) how complaints may be made and to whom; and
(c) any right they have to make a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman and when they can
such complaint.
• Many complaints will be resolved using the firm’s own complaints procedure. In most ca
dissatisfied client should use this procedure first, before taking more formal action.
• If the complaint hasn’t been resolved within 8 weeks, the solicitor must inform the clie
writing of his right to complaint to the legal ombudsman, or if the complaint procedure has
exhausted that the solicitor cannot settle it and to avail an ADR approved body and whethe
solicitor is agreeable to using it.
