Wednesday, February 03, 2016

LAW ROGUES SURVEY: Consultation launched by Scottish Legal Complaints Commission - What should lawyers & clients expect from solicitors’ regulator run by vested legal interests?

Legal regulator seeks consumer & legal views on ‘new’ strategy. SCOTLAND’S ‘independent’ regulator of complaints about solicitors – the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has launched a consultation seeking views from the public, clients & the legal profession on a strategy for the next four years.

The SLCC – created by the Scottish Government in 2008 at a cost of over two million pounds of taxpayers money, was originally planned to be a single gateway for all complaints relating to the legal profession, and a break from endemic dishonesty and corruption in the system of self regulation of solicitors – managed by the Law Society of Scotland.

However, the past eight years of ‘managing’ public complaints about solicitors has brought few headline success cases for clients of rogue solicitors solicitors – despite a staggering £20 million pounds of clients’ funds in the form of complaints levies thrown at the widely criticised pro-lawyer SLCC.

After eight years of doing little to raise standards in Scotland’s legal profession, the SLCC now claims : “We want to continue that journey: looking at greater efficiency and effectiveness (especially around early resolution); how we can share trends and learning from the many complaints we have dealt with to inform better practice; increasing our visibility; improving our own customer service; and drawing on best practice principles in regulation and consumer policy.  In our strategy we discuss why this approach is good for consumers, and good for the sector – high confidence in legal services plays a vital role in sustaining and growing the market.”

However, a recent media investigation uncovered most of the staff and investigators at the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission are in-fact families, friends & business associates of solicitors, reported here: 'Independent' Scots legal watchdog consists of solicitors’ husbands, wives, sons, daughters, cousins, friends, & employers.

And in December last year, the commission announced it would publish selected details of cases the regulator had investigated in relation to corrupt lawyers.  NO NAME, NO SHAME: Scottish Legal Complaints Commission will protect identifies of rogue solicitors & dishonest law firms.

Pointedly, the SLCC refused to name or shame any solicitor or law firm involved in complaints and scams – leaving consumers in the dark on lawyers and their law firms who are the subject of frequent complaints for the same offences against clients & consumers of legal services in Scotland.

The latest annual report from the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, 2014-2015 SLCC Annual report - published in December 2015 - indicated the regulator had paid out £401,000 to victims of rogue or corrupt solicitors, reported here: ROGUES PAY: 1009 cases of rogue lawyers reported to ‘independent’ legal regulator as SLCC claim mediation success up, £401K awarded to clients of dodgy solicitors.

However, the figure of £401K is thought to be a tiny fraction of the amount of fraud involving solicitors and their clients every year, demonstrated alone in one on-going case brought to the attention of the media where a sole solicitor is involved in the disappearance of around £500,000 from a trust.

Now, seeking what some in the legal profession are calling a “51st shade of grey”, the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission has announced  a consultation on a new strategy for the next four years, aimed at putting consumer understanding at its heart.

The draft strategy outlines a number of key priorities for the SLCC including work with consumer groups, lawyers and professional bodies such as the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates.

This work includes greater efficiency and effectiveness in complaints handling, increased visibility for the SLCC and considering whether the current regulatory set up delivers effective protection and redress for consumers.

SLCC consultation 2016  – Your views count.

Speaking with regard to the consultation, Bill Brackenridge, SLCC Chair said,  “At a time when consumer rights and redress are very much on the agenda for all sectors, this strategy lays out the path to an even more effective and efficient legal complaints handling system, where we build on the learning from complaints we’ve already undertaken in the last seven years.”

“We’re currently in a strong position and now is a great time to start planning for the years ahead – to our 10th anniversary in 2018 and beyond.  We think we can deliver even greater value to consumers and to lawyers, but working in partnership is a key part of this.  We’re looking forward to hearing what our stakeholders want to contribute to the refreshed approach we’re laying out.”

Former Law Society director, Neil Stevenson  - appointed SLCC Chief Executive during 2015 added, “One area we think will be of particular interest is focus on the consumer journey – we tend to talk about regulation from the perspective of the pieces of legislation, or the institutions involved. With the strategy we’re consulting on, we’ve lifted techniques used with patients in the NHS, and used them to examine the pathways along which lawyers and consumers experience regulation.  It makes you look very differently at the current landscape – for example, should a single complaint travel across as many as four organisations to be resolved? And even if that is the best way of handling it, how do you work together to give the consumer a single explanation of the system and the different stages? ”

“Personally, another project I see as vital is work to look at situations where we decide a client has suffered poor service, but the firm is being disbanded and the client never gets the refund in fees we award.  We think this undermines confidence in the regulation of the sector, and want to work with others to look for solutions.  We believe clients should be sure they will always get redress when things go wrong, and we know lawyers also want to be able to give this reassurance, but that’s not a promise that can always be made at the moment.   Of course, the purpose of the consultation is to see what focus and projects others think are important, and we’d really encourage debate and input.” 

Submit your questions, comments and responses to consult@scottishlegalcomplaints.org.uk.

The deadline for responses is Friday 11 March 2016.

The SLCC’s budget and operating plan for 2016-2017 are also out for consultation. All documents relating to the consultation can also be viewed on the SLCC’s website at the following links

Draft Strategy for 2016 - 2020 (PDF, 1.3 MB)  Draft Operating plan for 2016-2017 (PDF, 715 KB) Draft Budget and proposed levies for 2016-2017 (PDF, 847 KB)  Consultation questions,  on which we would specially value your views (PDF, 705 KB)

Previous media investigations, reports and coverage of issues relating to the SLCC can be found here: Scottish Legal Complaints Commission - A history of pro-lawyer regulation.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is there any point to giving views to a regulator run so unashamedly crooked by the Law Society?

Anonymous said...

Improving trust and confidence in the SLCC!

No chance,ever!

Anonymous said...

For starters how about scrapping it and making them pay back the £2 million and the £20 million to clients and public coffers?

Anonymous said...

Doubtless the Law Society will provide members with a set of scripted responses as the LSoS generally does in surveys.

Anonymous said...

over a year to investigate a complaint just to help our lawyer keep the money he stole from us this slcc is utterly corrupt

Diary of Injustice said...

@ 3 February 2016 at 18:27

Typical of all surveys and consultations carried out by the legal profession for the legal profession.

Anonymous said...

Not only "typical of all surveys and consultations carried out by the legal profession for the legal profession"

A certain Scottish local authority recently 'asked'(required/bullied) staff to spam surveys and online comments in support of council tax rises.

If one was at it and all that.Suggest you do some detecting!

Anonymous said...

After reading your piece on the slcc I do not think much of this survey or their intentions so no thanks will not bother wasting time on a survey for a lawyers club to do what they are always going to do which is protect lawyers as you rightly point out.

Anonymous said...

Submit your questions, comments and responses to consult@scottishlegalcomplaints.org.uk.
==============================================
No thanks that would be a complete waste of time. The SLCC and Law Society hate us and they spout endless drivel when their only aim is dominating the public and rewarding corrupt lawyers. Only an idiot would trust these pair, or a person who does not know what regulation really means, protecting legalized criminals and ripping off the public. The SLCC and Law Society only provide one thing for people ruined by lawyers, access to hell.

Anonymous said...

What should lawyers & clients expect from solicitors’ regulator run by vested legal interests? ...............Here is what I expect. Destroyed lives listen to me clients they will cover up everything their corrupt lawyers do to you, that is what self regulation was implemented for. There is no and never has been a complaints system, as you will know if you have tried to use it. Your complaint letter goes to the SLCC or Law Society and your complaint is buried. Twenty years later your lawyer is still working and you have no access to justice, trust me they are the scum of this Earth.

Anonymous said...

How on earth did the Law Society of Scotland manage to con taxpayers out of £2mil to form the biased Scottish Legal Complaints Commission?

They already had the framework in place to protect crooked lawyers so why were taxpayers forced to pay for it once again?

As well as it going on the perks brigade I see a good chunk of the yearly levy goes on rent for the SLCC office in the middle of Edinburgh so everyone including property moguls are doing well off clients who are being ripped off to pay for having their complaints thrown out.

People should really wake up to this very corrupt arrangement wouldn't you say?

Anonymous said...

NO NAME, NO SHAME: Scottish Legal Complaints Commission will protect identifies of rogue solicitors & dishonest law firms.................................So clients walk into a lawyers office when the lawyer should be in prison and these so called regulators claim to be independent. Let's face the reality, every lawyer in Scotland has been reported at some time in their career, probably multiple times. It is all a con, there is no complaints system and this is the brutal reality. And no prizes for guessing who claims there is a robust complaints system in place. They are liars my friends, liars, cheats and legalized thieves. This is the reality they are the most unjust crooked people in Scotland. I would never complain to the SLCC or Law Society, a complete waste of time and effort. All they care about is covering up their collective crimes against the public.

Anonymous said...

Recommendation - Self Regulation does not work; END IT NOW!

Simple enough.

Anonymous said...

From my own experience I can safely say the Slcc is as big a rogue as the rogues they investigate.Your blog is spot on 110% wish I had paid more attention at the time.

Anonymous said...

Talking about lawyers and license fees behaving badly for a moment did you notice how law firms are now using bbc to advance private compensation claims against public bodies with Foi requests part of the package.
Not too difficult to notice the same lawyers and their companies keep cropping up on the news when a compo scandal emerges.Do the victims receive all of the compo?.Given what you write about lawyers I doubt very much they do!
What is this Scotland we live in?Lawyers can claw all the airtime they like on the telly but when it comes to talk about independence or local news absolutely ZILCH!Please be a dear and run this comment!

Diary of Injustice said...

@ 3 February 2016 at 22:39

One for the papers ...

@ 3 February 2016 at 23:53

This may be so, however it is good to get in some comment of sorts from the public rather than the consultation being a one sided lawyer affair.

@ 4 February 2016 at 00:41

The trail of destroyed lives and big numbers fraud at the hands of self regulation of the professions is significant ...

@ 4 February 2016 at 09:30

The Law Society of Scotland and vested legal interests simply took charge of the 2006 Holyrood debate on regulation of the legal profession, inserted clause after clause into the Legal Profession & Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 and the SLCC ended up in the form it is today, basically an arms length front for the Law Society of Scotland.

Anonymous said...

The Law Society wrote the questions for the slcc survey

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
What should lawyers & clients expect from solicitors’ regulator run by vested legal interests? ...............Here is what I expect. Destroyed lives listen to me clients they will cover up everything their corrupt lawyers do to you, that is what self regulation was implemented for. There is no and never has been a complaints system, as you will know if you have tried to use it. Your complaint letter goes to the SLCC or Law Society and your complaint is buried. Twenty years later your lawyer is still working and you have no access to justice, trust me they are the scum of this Earth.

4 February 2016 at 00:41
---------------------------------------------------

As was told to the Justice II Committee at the time, which was responsible for bringing the SLCC into being, 'The intention is not to change the way the Law Society of Scotland keep control of the regulation of their members, rather the intention is to make strategic changes so as to change the perception of the Scottish public into believing that there is real change being made for the better, whereas the status quo will remain the same, with the Law Society of Scotland in control'?

The SLCC is a sham organisation that was dreamt up by the Law Society of Scotland and acquiescent Scottish politicians to cheat the Scottish Public and to allow the Law Society of Scotland to continue to commit crime to keep crooked Scottish lawyers out of jail and still at large screwing the public?

Anonymous said...

The Law Society of Scotland is the SLCC.

Therefore, it is ridiculous and counter productive to respond to this bogus survey as the Law Society of Scotland are incapable of being trusted by the sane, with the result a forgone conclusion - there is nothing to see hear people. Move along. Everything here is perfect. Watch this hand over here, while my other hand picks your pocket and steals your cash?

Anonymous said...

Yes,the Law Society probably did write the questions for the survey! so pointless to be a part of yet another rigged consultation with the word Scottish and Scotland plastered all over it.HintHint!

Diary of Injustice said...

@ 11 February 2016 at 19:31

A foregone conclusion ...

In response to several unpublished comments identifying complaints and further details, these will be looked into.