News

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.

As part of its oversight role the SLCC monitors complaints and identifies trends in practice, in relation to how practitioners deal with complaints and the subject of those complaints. This includes undertaking research. The latest research the SLCC is carrying out is into complaints made to, and dealt with, by the legal profession in Scotland.

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) is funded by a levy paid by legal practitioners operating in Scotland. The SLCC laid its Budget for 2012-2013 before the Scottish Parliament on 30 April 2012.

In November 2011 the SLCC concluded a review of the Law Society of Scotland’s Conduct Complaint Process under its powers set out in section 36(5) of the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007. 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.

Chief Executive of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission resigns to take up appointment as the next Scottish Information Commissioner

SLCC announces budget proposals for 2012-2013