Today we published our fourteenth Independent Complaints Handling report since the LSRA began receiving and investigating complaints in 2019. This is the second bi-annual report for 2026, covering the six-month period from 7 March 2026 to 4 September 2026.

During this reporting period, the LSRA hit a milestone by receiving its 10,000th complaint since the LSRA’s complaints service began, meaning that 10,000 complaints have been received in writing and categorised accordingly, by the LSRA’s Complaints, Investigations and Resolutions Department.

This report provides insight into how the LSRA complaints service operates, and provides a breakdown of statistics for the six-month reporting period on complaints at every stage of the complaint journey.

Key findings from the report:

  • A total of 914 complaints were received about legal practitioners – 875 relating to solicitors and 39 to barristers, reflecting the nature of solicitors’ work having a greater level of contact with consumers of legal services.
  • Of the 1,021 complaints closed during the reporting period –
    • 9 complaints of alleged misconduct (1%) were referred by the LSRA’s Complaints Committee to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (LPDT).
    • 260 complaints (25%) were resolved with the assistance of the LSRA, including 13 complaints resolved through the LSRA’s Informal Resolution process with the assistance of trained mediators.
    • 481 complaints (47%) were deemed to be inadmissible following a statutory assessment.
  • During the reporting period, the LSRA directed legal practitioners to pay a total of €68,700 in compensation to clients and to waive or refund a further €34,713 in legal professional fees charged.

This report continues the LSRA’s series of themed reports, taking a focus on complaints relating to litigation costs, fees and settlements, an area where costs can be significant and where clients are often dealing with stressful and contentious disputes.

Commenting on the publication of the report, Niamh Muldoon, Chief Executive Officer of the LSRA, said: “Consumers needing to engage the services of a legal practitioner should expect that their solicitor will be upfront regarding legal costs from the very outset. Additionally, their solicitor should clearly explain the expected fees and any reason why the fees might change throughout their time working with them. The bill at the end may be costly, but there should be no hidden surprises.”

By focusing on themes in complaints, the LSRA can identify and highlight recurring issues that lead to complaints in this area of law, which include, failures by legal practitioners to provide clients with a section 150 costs notice at the outset or to update it when costs change, misunderstandings about “no foal, no fee” arrangements, which do not mean a client will have no costs, and deductions made from settlement awards without the client’s written consent.

The LSRA’s Independent Complaints Handling reports are designed to provide key messages to support legal practitioners to reflect on their practice and to help consumers better understand the standard of service they should receive. With these reports, we continue in our commitment to promoting improved standards in the delivery of legal services.

Read the full Independent Complaints Handling report with a focus on litigation costs, fees and settlements here.

Read the press release here.