Legal Personnel - Barristers, solicitors and legal executives: role and the regulation of legal professions - REGULATION Flashcards
Explain how the legal profession is regulated (8 marks)
Explain how complaints against legal personnel are dealt with and how the profession is regulated (8 marks)
There are three main types of personnel who could be the subject of complaints and need regulation. These are legal executives, solicitors and barristers. There is also a Legal Ombudsman which can get involved if complaints are not handled correctly.
All Legal Executives are independently regulated by the CILEx Regulation Board. When an investigation is complete, a summary of the issues is prepared and the matter is put to the Professional Conduct Panel for consideration. They may reject the complaint, or if they believe there has been misconduct, they can warn or reprimand the member. Serious matters will be referred to the Disciplinary Tribunal who also have the power to exclude the person from membership of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and/or pay a fine up to £3000 and costs.
The Law Society is the governing body of Solicitors and is also responsible for protecting the interests of clients and for disciplining solicitors. Complaints about solicitors are handled by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Services Ombudsman. In the first instance a client should complain directly to the solicitor about the poor service they have received. All solicitors have a procedure for handling complaints. They should have a designated complaints handler whose details can be obtained from the Solicitors Regulation Authority. If a client is not satisfied with the solicitors’ responses to the complaint then they should contact the Legal Services Ombudsman. In addition, as solicitors and clients enter directly into contracts with each other, clients can sue the solicitor for breach of contract if the solicitor fails to do the work. A client can also sue the solicitor for negligence in and out of court work. This happened in Griffiths v Dawson where solicitors failed to make the correct application in divorce proceedings , and the solicitors were forced to pay her £21,000 in compensation. Since Hall v Simons, solicitors can also be sued for negligent advocacy.
Barristers can be disciplined by a part of the Bar Council called the Bar Standards Board if they fail to maintain the standards set out in their code of conduct. In extreme cases, they can disbar a Barrister and stop them from practising. Examples of professional misconduct include misleading the court, failing to keep information confidential, acting dishonestly or in a way that damages the profession’s reputation or discriminating against you because of your race, sex, disability, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, age or marital/ civil partnership status. The Legal Services Ombudsman will become involved if problems are not dealt with satisfactorily. Barristers and clients do not enter directly into contracts with each other, so a client cannot sue the barrister for breach of contract. However, the barrister can be sued for negligence for work both in and out of court. This happened in Saif Ali v Sydney Mitchell & Co where a barrister was successfully sued who had given the wrong advice to the client about who they could sue, and as a result it was too late to start proceedings against the right person. The ruling in Hall v Simons also applied to barristers. It was held that it was no longer in the public interest that barristers were immune from being sued for negligent advocacy. Previous to this case, barristers were not liable for poor advocacy as their duty was to the courts and they must be free to do their duty fearlessly and independently.
The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints against how the Bar Standards Board, the Solicitors Regulatory Authority and CILEx Regulatory Board handled the initial complaint. It covers all aspects of poor service, such as delayed or unclear communication, problems with your fees, or loss of documents. The Legal Ombudsman can order the lawyer or firm to apologise, order the lawyer or firm to refund all or part of your fees, order the lawyer or firm to return your documents, and pay compensation if you have lost out due to poor service. The Legal Ombudsman’s investigators aim to resolve cases quickly and informally by helping you and the firm or lawyer to come to an agreement. If they are unable to do that, the Legal Ombudsman will be asked to make a decision. Those decisions are legally binding and they can enforce them through the courts if necessary.
Barristers, solicitors and legal execs all have their own regulatory bodies. All of these bodies are overseen by who
All of these bodies who regulate legal professionals are overseen by the Legal Services Board.
Legal executives: regulation
who are legal execs regulated by
All legal executives are independently regulated by the CILEx Regulation Board.
The regulatory body acts against legal executives who do not meet the standard requirements
When an investigation is complete, what will happen and who is it put to
when an investigation is complete, a summary of the issues is prepared and the matter is put to the Professional Conduct Panel for consideration.
What will the professional Conduct Panel then do after consideration
The panel will decide if there has been misconduct. If there has not they will reject the complaint, or if they believe there has been misconduct, they can warn or reprimand the member.
who will serious matters be referred to and what do they have the power to do
Serious matters will be referred to the Disciplinary Tribunal
The Disciplinary Tribunal also have the power to exclude the person from membership of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and or pay a fine of up to 3000 and costs
Summary
They have the power to:
- Exclude a person from membership
- reprimand or warn the member
In addition the tribunal can order the legal exec to pay a fine up to 3000 and costs
Who deals with complaints regarding the way a complaint was handled and what legislation set it up then who is it referred to
The Office for Legal complaints was set up by the Legal services Act 2007, which deals with complaints regarding the way a complaint was handled. The matter is referred to the Legal Ombudsman.
Solicitors: Regulation
Who is the governing body of solicitors for England and Wales
The Law Society is the governing body of solicitors and all practising solicitors must be members of the Law Society
What is the law society also responsible for for solicitors
The Law Society is also responsible for protecting the interests of clients and for discipling solicitors.
Who regulates the profession of solicitors and deals with compliants
Complaints about solicitors and the regulation of the profession are handled by the Solicitors Regulation (regulatory) Authority and the Legal Services Ombudsman,
What will the Solicitors Regulatory Authority do to deal with complaints or regulate solciitors
The Authority will investigate the matter
If there is evidence of serious professional misconduct, who will the case be put to
Before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal
What happens if the tribunal upholds the complaint
It cna fine or reprimand the solicitor or in more serious cases it can suspend the solicitor from the Roll so they cannot practise for a certain time.
In very serious cases, the tribunal can strike off a solicitor from the Roll so that they are prevented from practising as a solicitor.
What happens if the complainant is unhappy with the decision of the Solicitors Regulatory Authority.
They may take the matter to the Legal Ombudsman
Complaints against solicitors:
What should a client do in the first instance of a complaint
In the first instance a client should complain directly to the solicitor about the poor service they have received, meaning a client who wishes to complain about a solicitor should first use the complaints procedure of the firm of solicitors involved. All solicitors have a procedure for handling complaints. They should have a designated complaints handler whose details can be obtained from the solicitors regulation authority.
