How to complain
Types of complaint
Complaints can be made about
the service provided by members or about their conduct.
Service complaints
Service complaints relate to the quality of the service that is
provided to clients. Service issues include allegations about
delay, failure to keep clients updated on progress of cases, or
costs matters.
All legal practices must have an in-house complaints handling
procedure. Details of the procedure should be provided to you
when you first instruct the practice or as soon as possible
thereafter. In the first instance, if you have a complaint
about the service provided to you by an ILEX member (or anyone else
in a legal practice) you must make it to the legal practice.
If the practice does not deal with a complaint or its response is
unsatisfactory, your service complaint can then be made to the
Legal Ombudsman. You
should receive details about the Legal Ombudsman at the same time
that the practice provides you with information about their own
complaints handling procedure. Practices should also inform
existing clients about the new Ombudsman service.
Conduct complaints
Conduct complaints are dealt with by IPS. They relate to
the conduct of members and may cover matters such as the competence
of members and misappropriation of money. Conduct complaints
may be made by clients, employers, an opposing party, the courts or
anyone else.
Complaints about the conduct of ILEX members
should be made to IPS in writing or on our complaints form which is
available in PDF or
Word
format. Details of where to send the complaint can be found
here.
IPS cannot consider complaints made by clients if those
complaints have already been determined by the Legal Ombudsman as
service issues.
What is the
procedure?
Complaints are investigated in accordance with
the Investigation,
Disciplinary and Appeals Rules (IDAR). The IDAR details
the full complaints and disciplinary procedure and the powers
available to IPS.
The procedure IPS will follow is summarised
here.