News

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission laid its fifth Annual Report before the Scottish Parliament on 17 December 2013.

The SLCC laid its Budget for 2013-2014 before the Scottish Parliament on 29 April 2013.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin Dunion as a non lawyer member to the SLCC. The SLCC is the single gateway for complaints against legal practitioners operating in Scotland. It investigates and resolves complaints about inadequate professional service; refers conduct complaints to the relevant professional body and provides oversight of complaint handling across the profession. The SLCC also promotes and advises on good complaint handling and makes recommendations to promote good legal practice in Scotland.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Bill Brackenridge as Chair of the SLCC. The appointment will be for five years. He replaces Jane Irvine, the first Chair of the SLCC, who served from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2012.

In November 2012 the SLCC concluded a review of the Law Society of Scotland’s timescales in relation to conduct complaints. The review concluded that the SLCC Board could take 'reasonable assurance' in the Law Society's overall complaints handling system but recognised that the processes, procedures and controls under review could benefit from a number of improvements.

The SLCC proposed budget for 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014.

In June 2012, TNS BMRB produced two reports following research commissioned by the SLCC. Specifically, the research looked at complaint numbers and the methods adopted by practitioners (both solicitors and advocates) in how they handle complaints made against them.

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (“SLCC”) laid its fourth Annual Report before the Scottish Parliament on 7 December 2012.

Practitioners should ensure that clients, or others, who may wish to express dissatisfaction with a practitioner or firm, are advised of the SLCC as the gateway for complaints at an appropriate time.

In 2011 the SLCC published the results of research into Guarantee Fund claims. This research, which had been undertaken by the University of Manchester, suggested that there may be factors other than the merits of individual claims which affected the amounts which had been paid out. The research did not suggest what these other “factors” might be.

Good practice Guidance: The SLCC is committed to publishing best practice guidance in handling/preventing complaints.

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has announced the appointment of Matthew Vickers as its new Chief Executive Officer.