Making a complaint about a legal service

A complaint about legal services should identify the provider's failure and the outcome you seek. The Legal Ombudsman explains its process, eligibility and time limits for complaints within its England and Wales remit. ^[1]

Give the provider a focused complaint Use the firm's complaint procedure and list the main issues with supporting examples. Separate delay, communication, costs and alleged errors. Include the engagement terms and explain what resolution would address each concern.

Keep the complaint date, acknowledgement and final response. Check current referral deadlines promptly rather than assuming the firm's ongoing correspondence preserves every right.

Distinguish service redress from other action A regulator's conduct investigation, an ombudsman complaint and a negligence claim have different purposes. A complaint does not automatically protect a court limitation period or ensure compensation for every alleged loss.

If urgent work continues, confirm who is handling deadlines. Where an error may have caused significant loss, consider an independent assessment alongside the complaint. For providers outside the Legal Ombudsman's remit, identify the correct professional or jurisdictional route before submitting.

Identify the service problem independently of the case outcome An unfavourable legal result is not by itself a description of poor service. Explain what the provider did or failed to do: unanswered enquiries, an unexplained cost increase, a missed instruction or another identifiable concern. Link the issue to the engagement and relevant communications. If the complaint concerns advice you believe was wrong, identify the advice and why the issue needs review without assuming that disagreement proves negligence. This allows the provider to understand the complaint and respond to the actual alleged failure.

Describe the impact in concrete terms. A delay might have caused uncertainty, additional expense or difficulty making a decision; an invoice problem might concern a particular charge. Keep evidence of the consequences you claim. Avoid combining every disappointing interaction into one unsupported allegation of incompetence. A focused account can still describe a serious concern, but it should distinguish established events from assumptions about motive or legal responsibility that may require an independent assessment before any conclusion can properly be reached.

Use the provider’s procedure and retain the complaint trail Send the complaint through the route identified in the firm's terms or published procedure, and keep a copy with the supporting material. State the outcome sought for each main concern. The Legal Ombudsman's guidance generally gives the provider up to eight weeks to address a complaint before escalation, with a route after a final response where the client remains dissatisfied. [1] Check how that guidance applies to your circumstances and retain the complaint date, acknowledgement and subsequent response.

Ask for an explanation if the provider's answer does not address an important issue. Refer to the relevant event or document rather than repeatedly resending the entire history. Where a remedy is proposed, ask what it covers and when it will be implemented. If you are invited to accept wording settling a wider dispute, consider its effect before agreeing. An apology, corrected invoice or offer of payment should be understood in the context of the actual proposal, especially where other legal issues may remain unresolved.

Keep the underlying legal work protected during the complaint Identify any live deadline, hearing or transaction that still needs attention. Ask who is handling it and whether the existing engagement continues while the complaint is considered. A complaint about communication does not automatically arrange substitute representation, and a dispute about fees does not explain who will complete an urgent filing. If confidence has broken down, seek independent advice about the immediate work and any transfer. Keep that practical continuity question visible rather than assuming the complaints team also manages the underlying case.

Where the alleged error may have caused significant loss, obtain advice about the available routes and relevant time limits. Service redress, professional regulation and a negligence claim have different functions and may interact. Do not assume that correspondence with one body preserves every other right. The appropriate next step depends on the provider, issue and jurisdiction. A client may need both a focused complaint and separate legal advice about the consequences of the alleged error, without treating either process as an automatic finding against the original adviser.

Prepare escalation around the unresolved issue and applicable remit Check whether the Legal Ombudsman or another body can consider the provider and complainant concerned, and review the current referral time limits promptly. The correct route should not be inferred solely from the fact that the service involved legal information. Keep the original complaint, final response and a short account of what remains unresolved ready for submission. Explain the remedy sought and the evidence supporting the impact, rather than asking the complaint body to reconstruct the whole matter from an unindexed archive.

If the complaint is accepted, respond to requests for information accurately and keep a record of proposed outcomes. Ask about any effect of accepting a final resolution where that is unclear. At completion, check that the agreed correction, explanation or payment has occurred and that any continuing legal matter has a responsible adviser. The practical aim is an appropriate response to the service problem, with the client's immediate position protected and the limits of the complaint process understood, rather than an assumption that escalation will decide every dispute connected with the original case.