The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has reported its highest ever number of incoming complaints – 1,385 in 2023-24 – significantly exceeding projections for the year. The organisation’s caseload was skewed by the fallout from one ceased firm which affected work across t
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The Scottish Law Agents Society (SLAS) is inviting lawyers to complete a survey on the perceived fairness, transparency, and suitability of the existing legal complaints system in Scotland. Recently, SLAS noted that members of the legal profession have raised concerns and expressed dissatisfaction r
The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has called for a revised system of appeal against its decisions due to the time and costs involved. Since the start of March 2024 the Court of Session has refused 10 requests for leave to appeal decisions of the SLCC. By comparison, there were only two
A better solution is needed to deal with solicitors who fail to co-operate with the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC), the body has said. The Inner House of the Court of Session last week stopped short of finding a practitioner in contempt of court after three hearings and a proof relating
The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has concluded that the Faculty of Advocates' complaints process is overly complex and extremely challenging to navigate, especially for lay complainers. In a new report the SLCC made five statutory recommendations for improvement: for Faculty to improv
The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has published a report on the benefits of price transparency and clear costs. The report outlines what the SLCC sees in complaints relating to pricing and fees, what the relevant rules and guidance say, and what firms in Scotland are doing to make
A large percentage of law firms continue to ignore the complaints process and in doing so push up costs for everyone, writes Vicky Crichton.
The Inner House of the Court of Session has published its opinion in relation to a contempt of court hearing regarding a solicitor who did not comply with a statutory request for information to allow a complaint to be investigated. The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) raised a petition wi
The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has laid its budget for 2024-25 in Parliament after the board approved its draft budget unchanged following a statutory consultation. Commenting on the budget, SLCC chair Jane Malcolm said: “Our thanks go to those who took time to respond to our
The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has welcomed improvements to Law Society of Scotland investigation timescales since it made statutory recommendations last year. A report published by the SLCC in March 2023 showed that the majority of complaints investigations were taking longer than
The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) brought proceedings yesterday against two solicitors who had failed to comply with statutory requests for information. One of the solicitors has previously been held in contempt of court for the same issue in relation to a different complaint, although
Continued inflationary pressure on core costs and significant uncertainty are key drivers in the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission’s 2024-25 budget, published for consultation today. The organisation is required to ensure its budget is sufficient to deliver its statutory duties to serve con
SLCC sanctions Faculty over ‘unsatisfactory’ investigation of complaint against Brian McConnachie KC
The Faculty of Advocates has been ordered to pay compensation to a woman who reported Brian McConnachie KC for misconduct over texts he sent to her, the Daily Record reports. The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) said that the Faculty had failed to properly investigate Mr McConnachie, who
The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has maintained its performance and "consolidated historic lows in complaint handling time on reduced resource", according to its annual report. The report also highlights work to improve customer service, to use its expertise to inform parliamentary sc
The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has been awarded expenses in relation to action taken to secure files from a solicitor to investigate a complaint against him. The solicitor failed to produce the file until the day before the contempt of court hearing against him first called. The cou