SLCC reports on latest audit of Faculty of Advocates

The SLCC has reported on its latest audit of the Faculty of Advocates conduct complaints handling processes. The report made 6 recommendations and the audit team have thanked the Faculty’s Chief Executive and other staff for their time and co-operation.

The audit follows two previous audits in 2016 and 2017. SLCC Oversight Manager Alison Marron commented, “This latest audit has demonstrated the benefit of the SLCC’s relationship with the Faculty of Advocates. The Faculty’s positive engagement with us has delivered a number of improvements in its conduct complaints process over the years, and this latest audit has shown the benefit of this approach. While the overall number of complaints against advocates remains low, we are pleased that we can work jointly with the Faculty to ensure that when complaints are made, that the Faculty is well equipped to deal with them.”

Iain Reid, CEO of the Faculty of Advocates said “We are continually looking for ways to improve our complaints handling process and the SLCC audit is an extremely useful way of getting external input to our practices and procedures.”

The SLCC has a duty under the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 to monitor and identify any trends in the way that the relevant professional organisations deal with conduct complaints. This includes giving guidance about the timescales involved and make recommendations on their systems and methods for handling conduct complaints. To assist in carrying out this function, the SLCC has the power to audit the records held by the professional body, which allows direct access to their cases, procedures, policies and rules which govern how they deal with complaints.

The report and the Faculty’s response is on the SLCC’s website.