UK's Legal Services Board issues new guidance to improve complaint handling by law firms

The UK's Legal Services Board (LSB) has announced new requirements and guidance aimed at significantly improving how law firms handle complaints, The Law Society Gazette reported.

This move addresses concerns that many legal service providers fail to manage complaints effectively, leading to client escalations and dissatisfaction.

The LSB emphasized needing a "step-change improvement" in first-tier complaint handling. The goal is to ensure that complaints are managed effectively, efficiently, and fairly. This comes in response to research indicating that nearly half of the cases reviewed by the Legal Ombudsman were inadequately handled by law firms. Additionally, almost one-third of complaints were escalated to the Legal Ombudsman before the first-tier process was exhausted due to a lack of confidence in the process or perceptions of its complexity.

Alan Kershaw, chair of the LSB, highlighted the challenges many people face in addressing their complaints fairly and promptly. "Often, this is because it is not clear how to complain, or they feel they come up against a wall of silence. The process should be clear, easy, and as stress-free as possible," Kershaw stated.

The LSB's new guidance mandates that regulators like the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) pursue the best possible complaint resolution systems and foster a culture of continuous improvement and learning from complaints. This will likely involve more proactive steps by regulators regarding firms that do not adequately handle complaints.

The new guidance emphasized several key points. Regulators are advised to use eight weeks as a benchmark for firms to resolve complaints promptly. Complaints procedures should be prominently displayed and easily accessible, clearly outlining the steps a firm will take when a complaint is made.

Furthermore, the guidance provides that clients must be informed of their right to lodge a first-tier complaint and escalate it to the Legal Ombudsman if unresolved after eight weeks. Firms must provide regular updates to complainants and ensure that all communications are in plain and appropriate language, maintaining a professional and empathetic tone that considers any sensitivities of the case or client, with apologies offered when appropriate. Additionally, firms that fail to comply with regulatory arrangements for complaint procedures may face enforcement actions if such actions are targeted, proportionate, and in the public interest.

The LSB also called for regulators to identify common themes in complaint handling weaknesses and firms with disproportionately high complaints and unresolved matters being referred to the Legal Ombudsman.