SLCC welcomes complaint record and whistleblowing consultations

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has welcomed consultations by the Law Society of Scotland (LSS) on changes to its practice rules.

The first would standardise the information that client relation managers (CRMs) must keep in their central complaint record and would also require CRMs to produce it to the SLCC and LSS. It stems from a research report the SLCC carried out on first tier complaint handling which was sent to the LSS in June.

The second change would introduce a duty on Scottish solicitors to report “serious misconduct” to the Law Society of Scotland. It also protects those making reports from victimisation.

SLCC chief executive Neil Stevenson (pictured) said: “We are very pleased to see these consultations. In particular, the recognition of our report on complaints records and the constructive way the Law Society of Scotland has engaged with our recommendations.

“This is an area where we have previously flagged opportunities for improvement and I know it has also been raised by our independent Consumer Panel. Our belief is that complaints can be a valuable learning tool for commercial success and the draft rule reflects that.”

He added: “We’re also pleased that the LSS is consulting on a duty to report potentially harmful misconduct that involves dishonesty or serious financial impropriety.

“This was an issue we flagged previously in Reimagine Regulation, our paper on legislative change. We know that it is only a tiny minority of solicitors who engage in such conduct, but the impacts can be significant. We welcome the increasingly risk based approach the LSS has taken to this and to the anti-money laundering rule change consultation.”