What complaints can be investigated
Learn about the types of complaints that can be investigated by the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA).
There are three categories of complaints:
- Inadequate professional services
- Excessive costs
- Misconduct
Section 51 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 (LSRA Act) states that the first two categories are complaint types that can only be made by clients of solicitors, as they relate to the services provided by the solicitor. In terms of time-limits, there is generally a three-year time limit on complaints about inadequate legal services and excessive costs.
Section 50(1)(h) of the LSRA Act extends the definition of misconduct to include the complaint of “bringing the profession into disrepute” and under s51(2) of the LSRA Act, misconduct has been opened up to “any person”, which means anybody can make a complaint about any solicitor.
There is no time limit on conduct complaints.
