Taking steps

Much attention has been focused on the increased powers of the Law Society to award compensation in cases where the service provided by a solicitor is found to be inadequate.


But this is only one of the steps the Society is empowered to take under schedule 1A of the Solicitors Act 1974 (as amended) where inadequate professional service is found. Limiting the solicitor's costs is the other most common.


However, in many cases the primary objective of the client who has complained is not to obtain compensation or a reduction in costs, but to secure the proper completion of the job that the solicitor was instructed to undertake in the first place.


To achieve this, the Law Society can make directions to a solicitor to rectify any error, omission or other deficiency or take such other action at his own, or his firm's, expense, as is in the interests of the client.


The use of such directions is often seen in probate cases, where the most frequent complaint is that an estate has not been finalised within a reasonable time. Many complaints come from executors who are dissatisfied that, while the bulk of an estate's assets have been realised and distributed, final accounts have not been prepared because there are outstanding matters to be dealt with.


In such cases, adjudicators will often make directions for steps to be taken to finalise an estate, calculate interest due or prepare final accounts before considering at a later stage whether compensation should be awarded or a reduction in costs made.


Another common situation is where solicitors have undertaken litigation under a public funding certificate but have failed to finalise their bill and claim for costs within a reasonable time. Where clients have a financial interest in the claim for costs because of the potential operation of the statutory charge, they are entitled to expect that such matters are dealt with expeditiously and to be kept informed about the reason for any delays.


Solicitors are reminded that, under principle 30.04 of the Guide to the Professional Conduct of Solicitors (8th edition) 1999, failure to comply with a direction made in these circumstances can amount to professional misconduct and result in a referral to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.


If more solicitors faced with a complaint ascertained what the client really wanted to achieve and took steps themselves to resolve the matter, far fewer complaints would end up being adjudicated on in circumstances where a solicitor can find his record of professional conduct at risk as well as the possibility of being penalised in monetary terms by awards of compensation or reductions in costs.


This column is written by a Law Society adjudicator