Legal services regulator upholds 53 of almost 1,500 complaints against lawyers

Just 53 of almost 1,500 complaints against legal practitioners, mostly solicitors, were upheld by the legal services regulator last year while almost one in four were resolved, according to its annual report. Almost half were deemed inadmissible.

The regulator has warned lawyers they must comply with its directions when addressing complaints or they will face High Court action.

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority received 1,352 complaints last year, down 15 per cent on the 2021 figure, and it closed another 1,483 complaints, according to its annual report published on Tuesday.

Of the 1,483 closed complaints, 677 (46 per cent) were deemed inadmissible, 53 were upheld, 90 were not upheld, 348 were resolved with the assistance of the regulator and 212 were withdrawn or could not proceed. A total 17 complaints were referred to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal which investigates misconduct complaints.

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Most of the complaints – 1,310 – were against solicitors, reflecting their greater level of contact with clients. 42 related to barristers.

The also report discloses the number of barristers rose by 24 during 2022 to 2,957, of whom 2,173 are members of the Law Library.

The number of partnerships of solicitors seeking authorisation to operate as Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), most involving between two and five partners with just four involving more than 25 partners, continues to grow steadily, according to the report. At the end of 2022, the number of authorised LLPs, which permits existing partnerships of solicitors to limit their personal liability, stood at 424, up from 364 at the end of 2021.

Of the complaints received by the regulator, 861 (46 per cent) alleged misconduct; 433, almost one in three, alleged inadequate standard of services; and 58 (4 per cent) concerned alleged excessive costs.

Failures to reply to correspondence and poor communication “remained very much at the heart of complaints that were received in all categories”, the report notes.

Of the 433 complaints alleging inadequate standard of service, 130 related to litigation (30 per cent), 109 (25 per cent) to conveyancing, 74 (17 per cent) to probate and the administration of estates and 64 (15 per cent) to family law.

Of the excessive costs complaints, 18 (31 per cent) related to conveyancing, 15 (25 per cent) to litigation, 13 (22 per cent) to family law and 5 (8 per cent) to administration of estates.

504 (37 per cent) of the complaints related to lawyers based in Dublin city and county, 67 were in Limerick and 4 per cent were in Galway. It also received almost 3,000 phone calls and emails seeking information and/or complaint forms.

The regulator issued seven applications to the High Court seeking orders to enforce its directions against legal practitioners.

LSRA Chief Executive Dr Brian Doherty advised all legal practitioners to comply with its directions or face legal action.

“In 2022, due to the failure of a small number of legal practitioners to comply with directions made follow the investigation of a complaint, the LSRA began applying to the High Court for enforcement orders,” he said. The LSRA will also seek costs orders when it makes such applications, he added.

“Such action should not be necessary as every legal practitioner should comply with the directions of the regulator,” he said. “Failure to do so creates unnecessary work, which slows down the system, and also creates additional costs which are passed on to all legal practitioners through the annual levy collected by the LSRA to fund its operations.”

The LSRA is funded by a levy on barristers and solicitors. In 2021, the levy was €184.11 per barrister who is not a member of the Law Library; €190.97 per barrister member of the Law Library; and €255.67 per solicitor.