News

The SLCC has today called for the government to consult on opportunities to reform legal complaints handling, based on its experience of handling over 8,000 complaints.

Commenting on a recently published Court decision, chief executive of the SLCC, Neil Stevenson, said "it is vital that solicitors respond appropriately when the SLCC contacts them in relation to a complaint. Without a response it is more likely a complaint will be admitted, causing more work and stress for the practitioner and extra cost for the whole sector. It delays closure for the client, whether that being the case being dismissed or upheld, and risks undermining confidence in the profession.”

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has set out its 4 year strategy to improve Scotland’s legal complaints system. The plan was finalised after a consultation earlier this year.

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has been made an official partner organisation of 50:50 by 2020 and in the same month has been accredited as a Living Wage employer.

Following a roundtable discussion on the application of disciplinary sanctions last month, the SLCC has now issued finalised guidance to the relevant professional organisations.

Experts from a range of professional regulators came together at the SLCC this week to discuss sanctions in professional regulation. They were joined by representatives from consumer and equality groups along with other stakeholders.

Four key themes dominated the responses to the recent consultation by the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission on its draft strategy, operating plan and budget. Neil Stevenson, the Commission’s Chief Executive thanked all those who responded “we know preparing a response takes time and consideration, and we’re tremendously grateful to stakeholders who took the time to share very frank, focussed, and thoughtful feedback.”

10 members of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission staff team are running the equivalent of over 100 miles at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival in May. The combined effort includes a relay team, half marathon and full marathon runners, all in aid of the staff charity for the year ‘The Yard’.

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) is to host a roundtable on the application of disciplinary sanctions on lawyers in Scotland.

The SLCC has opened a short consultation on changing its time limits. The changes were first consulted on in October 2014, as part of a number of changes to the Rules.

“SLCC provides update on Conduct Trends Analysis report The SLCC has provided an update on its Conduct Trends Analysis report, which was published in April 2015. The report focussed on identified trends in conduct complaint handling by the Law Society of Scotland (LSS) over 6 years. Following a formal response from the Law Society of Scotland in September 2015, and further discussions since then, the update provides a summary of our recommendations and the Law Society of Scotland’s responses as well as some learning points.

The SLCC has welcomed guidance from the Court of Session in connection with an appeal against its decision to reject a complaint for investigation.