Solicitors directed to pay €45,111 in compensation to their clients

Barristers advised failure to update details on Roll may now be misconduct

Press Release: Friday 26 April 2024

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) today publishes its first complaints report for 2024 which shows it received 637 complaints in a six month period, with 796 complaints closed. The report provides details of the number and nature of complaints about legal practitioners (solicitors and barristers) received and investigated during the reporting period of 2 September 2023 to 1 March 2024. This is the ninth report published by the LSRA on the operation of its complaints function and it reflects the third six month period in a row where more complaints were closed than received by the organisation.

Overall, legal practitioners were directed by the LSRA to pay a total of €45,111 in compensation to their clients in the reporting period.

Total complaints received                   

The LSRA can receive and investigate three types of complaint, about inadequate legal services, excessive cost (overcharging) and misconduct. In the reporting period, the LSRA’s Complaints and Resolutions Unit received a total of 637 complaints. A total of 607 related to solicitors and 30 related to barristers, reflecting the higher number of solicitors and their greater level of contact with consumers. Multiple complaints may be brought against an individual legal practitioner.

  • 382 complaints (60%) were about alleged misconduct.
  • 128 complaints (20%) related to legal services of an inadequate standard.
  • 11 complaints (2%) came under the category of excessive costs (overcharging).
  • 116 complaints (18%) were mixed grounds complaints, with a combination of misconduct, inadequate services and excessive costs.

Total complaints closed and outcomes

A total of 796 complaints were closed in this reporting period. These include:

  • 414 inadmissible complaints (52%).
  • 131 (16%) complaints resolved with the assistance of the LSRA, including 19 complaints resolved in the LSRA’s Informal Resolution process with the help of its trained mediators.
  • 69 (9%) upheld complaints.
  • 72 (9%) not upheld complaints.
  • Seven complaints of alleged misconduct were referred by the Complaints Committee of the LSRA to the separate Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal.

LSRA High Court enforcement activities

The report details the LSRA’s High Court enforcement activities against solicitors who did not comply with its directions or determinations in complaints made against them. During the six month period covered in the report, these include:

  • A total of 15 pre-action letters were issued to legal practitioners seeking their compliance with LSRA directions or determinations within a set time period, failing which High Court proceedings would issue.
  • Three enforcement proceedings were issued seeking orders from the High Court directing compliance by legal practitioners with LSRA directions and determinations.
  • Six enforcement proceedings against legal practitioners came before the High Court. Of these, four matters concluded within the reporting period with the legal practitioners complying with the LSRA’s directions or determinations.
  • Separately, during the reporting period, an LSRA application came before the High Court seeking leave to issue an order of attachment or committal of a legal practitioner for failure to comply with an earlier enforcement order. Following the compliance of the legal practitioner, this matter was struck out with no order.

 

New obligations on barristers to update details on LSRA Roll

The report also highlights important new obligations for all barristers on the Roll of Practising Barristers, which is maintained by the LSRA. The changes introduced by the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 were introduced to better ensure the accuracy of the Roll and the details of barristers who are entitled to provide legal services in the State. A barrister who fails to contact the LSRA to ensure that their details on the Roll are up to date may now face a potential misconduct issue.

On publishing today’s report, the LSRA’s Chief Executive Dr Brian Doherty said:

“The LSRA has repeatedly had cause to initiate High Court enforcement proceedings against legal practitioners who have not complied with its directions or determinations in complaints. Today’s report highlights once again the small number of instances where a High Court enforcement order has been granted and legal practitioners have still not complied.

“In these instances, the LSRA has had to resort to applying to the High Court for leave to issue orders of attachment or committal, which in effect puts legal practitioners at risk of being put in prison unless they comply with the High Court.

“These court applications and the resulting cost would not be necessary if the legal practitioners concerned would just comply with the directions or determinations made by the LSRA in the first place. No benefit is gained by a legal practitioner through not complying, and by not doing so they are simply putting the LSRA to further effort and expense, and for the complainant they are adding to the mounting frustration.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority is an independent statutory body set up under the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 with a range of functions. These include regulating the provision of legal services by legal practitioners (barristers and solicitors) and ensuring the maintenance and improvement of standards in the provision of legal services. The LSRA began receiving and investigating complaints about legal practitioners on 7 October 2019.

Today’s report is available to download here: Independent Complaints Handling: Complaints About Solicitors and Barristers, Report 1 2024