Annual Reports

Summary of the Annual Report 2001–2002

The Ombudsman

Answers to the Frequently Asked Questions about the Ombudsman: the laws which govern the Ombudsman’s role and remit; what the Ombudsman does; what is an Opinion, how is it prepared, what happens to it; what can the Ombudsman do, what can the Ombudsman not do, what is the connection between the Ombudsman and the Scottish Executive and Ministers?

The Ombudsman’s Office

I received 163 complaints, a 57% increase over the previous year, about the way the Scottish Legal Services professional bodies had handled a complaint.

We completed 174 Opinions and met our target to complete 85% of Opinions within 13 weeks of receiving a complaint.

We improved the information we provide to complainants and encouraged face to face contact.

We achieved a significant increase in output and performance within budget.

I gave written and oral evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Justice 1 Committee’s enquiry into legal services complaints.

The Law Society of Scotland

I received 153 complaints about the way the Law Society handled a complaint about a solicitor or firm of solicitors — an increase of 49% over last year.

We prepared 74 Opinions on complaints about the way the Law Society had handled a full complaint investigation and in two thirds I was not satisfied that the investigation had been fair, efficient or thorough.

We prepared 82 Opinions on complaints where the Law Society had refused to look into a complaint about a solicitor and in one in five concluded that the Law Society had failed to recognise a complaint which it is required by law to investigate.

We prepared 3 Opinions during a Law Society investigation, and in all 3 I was satisfied with the way the Law Society was handling the complaint.

The Law Society accepted 90% of my recommendations to re-open investigations.

I recommended that the Law Society pay a total of £9,420 in compensation to complainants for inconvenience, distress and loss caused by badly managed investigations and to reimburse a total of £1,150 to cover complainants’ costs in making a complaint to the Ombudsman.

I recommend that the Law Society should take no longer than nine months to complete complaint investigations, take no longer than 6 months to complete a re-investigation, maintain a useable record of complaints, identify and record repeated poor performance, use its powers to require solicitors to attend targeted training, address repeated poor performance and improve the profession’s understanding of what is an inadequate professional service.

The Faculty of Advocates

I received complaints from 7 people about the way the Faculty of Advocates had handled a complaint about an advocate — an increase of 75% over last year.

We prepared 9 Opinions about the way the Faculty of Advocates had handled a complaint about an advocate, finding repeated unacceptable administrative delay.

The Faculty of Advocates accepted all 4 recommendations to pay compensation for inconvenience caused by administrative delay.

In a third of the complaints I was not satisfied that all of the available evidence had been taken into account, in that the advocate concerned had not been given the opportunity to comment on the complaint.

The Faculty has finally implemented changes to the way it deals with complaints and now has a more balanced and modern approach.

I note that the Faculty is paying urgent attention to basic administrative efficiency in its complaint handling, and recommend that it should set realistic target timescales for each stage of the complaint investigation and a time limit for a complaint to be made about an advocate.

The Scottish Conveyancing & Executry Services Board

I received one complaint on completion of a preliminary investigation by the Secretary of the Board into a complaint about a Qualified Conveyancer. I concluded that the complaint had not been investigated adequately and recommended that it be re-investigated. The Board’s future is uncertain.

The Wider World

A regular series of informal meetings with related organisations keeps my small office in touch and informed.

The second seminar for Scottish Ombudsmen’s Offices looked at the proposed Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act.

We continue to meet with legal practitioners, consumers and complaint handling bodies in the non-legal world to improve our understanding of the provision of legal services and of best practice in modern complaint handling.

Linda M Costelloe Baker
Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman
July 2002

Source: http://www.slso.org.uk/2001summary.shtml