Satisfaction

How to make a complaint

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. We of course hope that you are happy with our work. If however you wish to make a complaint (which may include a complaint about your bill), the below procedure will ensure that complaints are dealt with promptly, fairly and effectively. Please inform us of any complaint swiftly, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem as soon as possible.

In the first instance it may be helpful to contact the person who is working on your case or matter to discuss your concerns and we will do our best to resolve any issues at this stage. If you would like to make a formal complaint, please contact our Complaints Manager, Daniel Lowen, on [email protected] or +44(0)20 3865 1000. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case or matter. Our Complaints Manager will send a response to you acknowledging the complaint within two business days of receiving it. At the same time, we will record the complaint in our central register.

Our Complaints Manager will then start to investigate the complaint. This may involve one or more of the following steps:

• he may ask the member of staff who acted and/or the Matter Partner to prepare a report and send it to you; and/or
• he may invite you to meet with him and/or the member of staff who acted and/or the Matter Partner to discuss and hopefully resolve the complaint; and/or
• he may reply in writing to you about the complaint.

If a meeting takes place, the Complaints Manager will within seven business days of the meeting contact you in writing (which will be entitled “Written Response”) to confirm what took place and any further comments he may have in relation to the complaint.

If a meeting does not take place, the Complaints Manager will respond to your complaint in writing (which will be entitled “Written Response”), and such response will include our suggestions for resolving the matter.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour.

Alternatively, the Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case or matter.

*From 1 April 2023*

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. From 1 April 2023 the Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them:

(a) within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint;

and

(b) no more than one year from the date of the act/omission you are concerned about; or

(c) no more than one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them.

Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9am to 5pm.

Email: [email protected]

Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167
Slough
SL1 0EH

What if you have a complaint about your bill

If you have a complaint about your bill, you may apply to the Court for an assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974 and/or you may also be able to complain to the Legal Ombudsman (see above). The Legal Ombudsman may not deal with a complaint about a bill if an application has been made to Court.

Mediation Complaints Procedure

It is a requirement of the Civil Mediation Council that all individual regulated mediators must investigate complaints made against them.

HOW TO MAKE A COMPLAINT

We are committed to providing a high-quality mediation service to all our clients. We of course hope that you are happy with our work. If however you wish to make a complaint, the below procedure will ensure that complaints are dealt with promptly, fairly and effectively. Please inform us of any complaint swiftly, so that we can do our best to resolve the problem as soon as possible.

If you would like to make a formal complaint, please contact Liz Coley by emailing [email protected] or by telephone on 020 3865 1000. Making a complaint will not affect how we handle your case or matter.

We will send a response to you acknowledging the complaint within 5 business days of receiving it. We will also keep a written record of the complaint.

All complaints will be investigated and responded to within 21 working days of receipt. However, on occasions further time may be required, in which case the complainant will be notified of this in writing.

In the event that the response is not accepted, the complainant can appeal to the Civil Mediation Council in certain specific circumstances. Details of the Civil Mediation Council’s appeal processes can be found here: https://civilmediation.org/for-thepublic/complaints/