Legal Services Regulatory Authority

Hi,

I see that if I am issued an invoice by a solicitor and I disagree with some or all of it and can't reach an agreement with the solicitor on this, the law society says I should make a complaint to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority.

I had a look on their website but can't figure out what they would do if they agree with me or why the solicitor would care if I made a complaint to them which they agreed with me on. (I'm waiting on a reply from them regarding this query).

Have you any advice on this situation or possibly another organisation I should contact?

Thanks.

GM228

What they can do for you (assuming they uphold your complaint) depends on the nature of the complaint, they have the power to force the solicitor/barrister to take actions to resolve the issue, have the services completed by a different solicitor/barrister of your choosing at their cost, issue you a refund and/or compensation for example.

Peregrinus

The LSRA will attempt to arrive at an agreed resolution of your complaint by mediating between you and the solicitor. ("Agreed" here means agreed between you and the solicitor.) If that is unsuccessful the LSRA can make a determination in relation to the dispute and, if the determination is in your favour, can direct the solicitor (a) to refund, in whole or in part, any costs that you may have already paid, or (b) to waive, in whole or in part, any costs that you have not already paid.

If you're not happy with the LSRA's decision or if the solicitor isn't, you or he can ask for it to be reviewed by a Review Committee. The Review Committee will confirm the decision of the LSRA, if they think it was properly made, or send it back to the LSRA to make a new decision, if they think it wasn't.

If you (or the solicitor) are still not happy, you can head off to the courts and sue one another in the old-fashioned way.

If there is a direction to refund or waive all or part of the costs and the solicitor does not comply, unless he has a reasonable excuse (e.g. that he has appealed the matter to the courts) his failure to comply may be a professional misconduct issue, leading to disciplinary proceedings against him, and/or may amount to an offence which can be prosecuted in the District Court.

You may find it helpful to read this useful this useful booklet, available on the LSRA website.

Thanks for the advice.