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How To Complain About Solicitors

How To Complain About SolicitorsIn an ideal world, the work of any legal expert you hire would be perfect every time. Occasionally though, things go wrong. Here’s how to complain about solicitors you’ve hired when you’ve not been satisfied with the service you’ve received:

Let us know a little about your situation on 0845 1391399 or by completing a Free Online Enquiry today and we can connect you with a legal specialist who can give you the kind of advice you’re looking for.

What Can You Complain About?

It’s important to know that all professional solicitors in the UK must comply with the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) code of conduct.

This code lays out the way a solicitor should act in the performance of their duties so that they are always fair and responsible.

Breaches of this code that you might wish to complain about could include situations where your solicitor:

  • Was dishonest in some way
  • Didn’t handle your case very well
  • Charged you too much for their services or had some kind of billing irregularity
  • Committed some kind of fraud
  • Discriminated against you in some way
  • Delayed progress on your case (either deliberately or through negligence)
  • Gave you bad advice or failed to advise you
  • Did not follow instructions you gave them
  • Did not keep you informed about the progress of your case
  • Did not reply to your communications

Where Do I Make Complaints About Solicitors I’ve Used?

Complaints about solicitors should be made in one of the following ways:

  1. Complaints procedure – this is the place to start. Part of the way solicitors are supposed to operate ensures each law firm has an official complaints procedure. Other authorities will expect you to have at least tried to address your solicitor directly first.
  2. Complain to the legal ombudsman – if you aren’t happy with the way your solicitor handled your complaint, you can complain to the legal ombudsman (an independent, free, and impartial third party).
  3. Complain to the SRA – an alternative, if you have complained to your solicitor and were dissatisfied with their response, would be to complain to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

How Do I Make A Complaint?

There are a few things that remain true about making a complaint no matter where you want to make it:

  1. Make your complaint as soon as possible
  2. Be very clear about what the problem you experienced was
  3. Suggest how you would like them to resolve it
  4. Wait a reasonable time for their reply (eight weeks is usually enough)
  5. Only if you are still dissatisfied should you consider escalating the situation

What Are The Most Common Complaints About Solicitors?

Every time someone complains to the impartial legal ombudsman, they make a note of what it was about. The most common complaints about solicitors come from the following fields:

  1. Conveyancing – it won’t be a surprise to most that the lengthy residential conveyancing process is the source of a huge 1 out of 4 complaints about solicitors made in the 2018-19 period. However, it is important to note that this is one of the largest fields of law.
  2. Personal injury, wills and probate, and family law – are all responsible for around 13-14% each but they also make up a large amount of legal work carried out in the UK.
  3. Litigation – is just behind those as the subject of around 10% of all complaints received by the ombudsman.

Can I Uue A Solicitor For Professional Negligence?

Yes, if you meet the specific terms for professional negligence you can – after complaining to the legal ombudsman or the SRA – consider suing your solicitor.

This is only the case if you can show your solicitor breached what is known as their “duty of care” (i.e. they failed to deliver their services with the level of expertise you might reasonably expect) and that you suffered losses or damage as a result.

As of 2001, there is a special procedure in place to ensure that you can’t normally go straight into the litigation process. You need to first be able to show you tried other methods, such as your solicitor’s complaints procedure and appealing to the legal ombudsman.

How To Complain About Solicitors

If you aren’t sure of your legal position after making a complaint about your solicitor, the safest thing to do is get in touch with a lawyer that specialises in professional negligence.

Finding one doesn’t have to be difficult. Solicitors Near Me can find you a friendly and approachable expert for FREE and with no obligation to use them if you don’t want to.

Let us know a little about your situation on 0845 1391399 or by completing a Free Online Enquiry today and we can connect you with a legal specialist who can give you the kind of advice you’re looking for.

 

How To Complain About Solicitors

 

What Is Professional Negligence?

What Is Professional Negligence?What is professional negligence? (And what can we do about it?)

If you have experienced harm because of the action (or lack of action) of a professional, you may have been the victim of professional negligence. But what is professional negligence?

Because this term is often used quite loosely – or in circumstances when it doesn’t actually apply under UK law.

To be connected to a specialist solicitor near to where you live, please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.

Here is everything you need to know about professional negligence to start working out whether you might have a potential claim or if someone has a claim against you:

How Do I Know If I Have A Claim For Professional Negligence?

Professional negligence means that a certain type of “professional” person or organisation has failed in what is called their “duty of care” to one of their clients.

A “professional” is often defined as someone who is considered to have “expertise” in the service they are providing. A professional has to deliver that service to a certain standard – the standard that their client might reasonably expect. If they don’t, they may have “breached” that duty of care.

This goes beyond someone making a mistake in the workplace. In order to qualify as professional negligence, three things must be true:

1)The Professional Must Owe A “Duty Of Care”

A “duty of care” is a legal obligation to achieve a set standard of care in order to avoid “careless acts that could foreseeably harm others”.

Many types of professionals – including solicitors, accountants, financial advisors, architects, chartered surveyors, personal trainers, and many others – owe their clients a duty of care.

Many professionals have a duty of care that is already recognised in law. Establishing that a certain professional owed their client a duty of care is the first fact that must be proven if you want to claim professional negligence occurred.

2) They Must Have Breached That Duty Of Care

If the professional owed a duty of care to their client, it must be shown that they breached it.

This could be either by something they did (for example, give bad financial advice) or something they failed to do (for example, give no financial advice when they reasonably should have done).

3) That Breach Of Care Must Have Caused A Loss

Finally, the person making a claim of professional negligence must show that they suffered loss or damage as a result of that breach of duty of care.

This could be physical harm or it could be financial harm they would not otherwise have suffered if the breach did not happen.

What Is Professional Negligence? Some Examples

Those rules are all very well, but the actual circumstances that professional negligence laws cover are so broad that they can be difficult to picture. They cover numerous situations in a wide range of industries.

Let’s take a look at some hypothetical examples of the kind of circumstances that could qualify as professional negligence:

  • Solicitor – if a solicitor drew up a will incorrectly and their client missed out on inheritance.
  • Personal trainer – if a personal trainer failed to enquire as to previous injuries and their client was injured during their workout.
  • Charted surveyor – if a surveyor failed to identify structural problems in a building that later needed to be rectified at great cost or caused injury or damage.

What Is The Difference Between Negligence And Professional Negligence?

Negligence, in legal terms, covers a wide range of areas. It means that someone had some kind of duty towards someone else and they managed to breach or fail to uphold it.

Professional negligence is one of these areas. If you hire a “professional”, you expect them to deliver services of a certain standard. They have that “duty of care” towards you.

There are several other key areas of negligence law. One of the most important is the specific type covering healthcare professionals. This is called medical negligence and has its own subset of law.

Is Negligence A Professional Liability?

If you are a professional and negligence – that you have breached your duty of care – has been proven, you can be held professionally liable.

Depending on your industry, you may have to have insurance protection in place specifically because you are held to certain standards.

How Much Can I Claim For Professional Negligence?

There isn’t really an agreed amount for how much you can claim for professional negligence. The amount you might be due will likely be linked to the scale of the damage or loss that the professional’s breach of duty of care caused.

For instance, imagine you had received bad professional financial advice that caused you to miss out on tax relief for your business. As a result, you ended up overpaying tax. Any professional negligence claim would likely be set around the amount of tax you overpaid.

How Do I Make A Professional Negligence Claim?

Your first step should always be to seek expert legal advice as to the strengths of your case. It’s wise to consult at least a couple of specialists to get more than one opinion. But where do you start?

Let Solicitors Near Me find you the ideal friendly and approachable negligence solicitor near you for FREE and with no obligation to use their services afterwards.

To be connected to a specialist solicitor near to where you live, please either call us now on 0845 1391399 or complete a Free Online Enquiry.

 

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Where Can I Find a Solicitor?

Throughout life, there are often times when we need the help of a solicitor. Whether you are dealing with the breakdown of a relationship, a dispute at work, the Probate process after a loved one has died, or you want to write a Will or buy a house, there are many situations when you might need to call upon the services of a legal professional.

However, if you have never used a solicitor before, you might not know which way to turn.
Furthermore, different solicitors specialise in different areas of the law. Some will deal exclusively with family law, some will deal exclusively in commercial law, and so on. So while you may have previously used a solicitor to buy a house, that solicitor will not be of any use if you are now Where Can I Find a Solicitor?thinking about making an employment claim, for example.

That can leave you in a difficult situation, as you will need to find the right solicitor for your particular set of circumstances.

So, if you are looking for a solicitor, what can you do? Well, there are a number of options open to you.

High street solicitors

You could try the traditional approach of heading to your nearest ‘high street solicitor’. Some high street solicitors do still exist, but it is not always as easy as popping into your local city, town or village and finding the right legal representation for you. After all, your town might only have a firm of probate lawyers, when what you really need is someone to help you with your divorce.

Find a solicitor online

That is why for most people, their first port of call is an online search. Typing ‘divorce solicitors near me’ (or whatever it may be) into your search engine is often a good place to start. Others might decide to use the Law Society find a solicitor tool, which allows you to search for law firms near you, or for particular solicitors.

But whichever route you choose, you will then have to sift through all of the results and find a firm that not only deals with your particular area of the law, but that charges an agreeable fee, and that is committed to delivering a good service. As such, finding the right law firm can take a lot of time and effort.

Let us find a solicitor

Your other option is to let us do the searching for you. We already have a list of the best solicitors across the country. We can consider your legal situation and recommend the right solicitor in your local area for the job. All you need to do is fill out the free enquiry form and wait for us to do the hard work.

Like the Law Society find a solicitor tool, this service is completely free of charge. We will not charge you a penny, regardless of whether you pursue your legal matter, or whether you end up using the firm we recommend.

To get started, fill out the free online enquiry form, or contact us for more information.

Law Society Find a Solicitor Tool

If you are looking for a solicitor, you can use the Law Society find a solicitor tool. Alternatively, you can ask us to put you in touch with accredited solicitors near you.

Law Society find a solicitor

Every solicitor in England and Wales must be registered with the Law Society, meaning the organisation has a comprehensive list of all the law firms and solicitors in the region. Conveniently you are able to search their database online. So, if you are looking for a legal assistance, the Law Society can be an invaluable resource.

All you need to do is head to their Find a Solicitor website. You can then perform a quick search, where you select the type of legal issue and the preferred location of your legal advisor. The search results will then give you a list of Law Society accredited firms in the area which deal with that particular area of law.

Or you can do a pro search, which allows you to search a specific organisation or person. If you search for a person, the results will tell you where that individual works and when he/she was admitted as a solicitor. This proves that the individual is indeed a solicitor, providing assurance that he/she is qualified.

Using Solicitors Near Me

However, the issue with the Law Society find a solicitor service is that it can overwhelm you with choice. Just searching for an accident and injury law firm in the Bristol area comes up with five pages of results. This means you will still have to do a lot of research and sifting to finally select a law firm or solicitor that is right for you. Law Society Find a Solicitor Tool

And with regards to the pro search, you have to know the name of the organisation or individual before you get started. This can be something of a catch-22 situation if you are at the start of your hunt for legal representation, as you may not have any firms or solicitors in mind.

Therefore you might also want to ask us for help. We provide a very similar offering as the Law Society find a solicitor service, but we will hand-pick the best solicitors for your legal issue. You can rest assured that whoever we recommend will be an accredited and experienced legal professional.

Like the Law Society, we offer this service completely free of charge. Regardless of whether you instruct the solicitor we suggest or not, it will not cost you a single penny. So you really have nothing to lose!

Get started

To get started, simply fill out the online enquiry form and tell us your name, email address, your location and the nature of your legal matter. To help us narrow down the search, you can also include a message, explaining a little bit more about your legal issue.

Or for more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.