Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) & other changes in regulation
Latest News - 3 April 2009
The SLCC budget for 2009/10
How Much?
Solicitors with 3+ years experience - £275 (down £32)
Solicitors with 1 - 3 years experience - £138 (down £15)
In-house solicitors - £91(down £11)
Solicitors working outwith Scotland - £91
The £200 for mediation will be removed. However fees against a solicitor when the case is upheld will double. As a result the fees will be –
Mediation levy - £0
No complaint upheld - £0
Complaint accepted - first settlement - £500
Complaint accepted - second and further settlement - £700
Formal determination - first - £800
Formal determination - second - £1,200
Formal determination - third and further - £2,000
Who's liable?
You are liable to pay the levy if you hold a practising certificate on the 30 June 2009 (irrespective of whether you are in employment or not)
When do I have to pay?
Invoices will be sent in the week commencing 18 May 2009. The Society aims to have the funds collected by the 22 June in order that it can meets its obligation to pay the SLCC the full amount on 30 June 2009.
Moving firms?
If you have moved firms or are about to move firms, please make sure that the Records Department at the Society know your correct details. The Society is disappointed in the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) budget for 2009/10.
Society Comment
While recognising that cuts in the levy rates have been made by the SLCC for the forthcoming year, the Society believes further reductions should have been made to its budget.
Chief Executive Lorna Jack said:
The Society has structured its budget for this year to reflect the impact the recession is having on its members. We believe the SLCC should have done likewise and budgeted in order to reduce levy rates and help ease the financial burden on solicitors in the current climate.
The Society supports changes such as removal of the £200 charge for mediation and is pleased the SLCC accepted our view that solicitors working outwith Scotland should pay a reduced rate of £91 per annum. For solicitors with 3 + years experience the annual levy cost is £275.
However we think SLCC’s level of reserves are unnecessarily high given the nature of the organisation, and proposals for salary increases are inappropriate at a time when many organisations, including the Society, have implemented a salary freeze for 2009/10.
The Society also expressed concern over the doubling of the case levies which can be imposed on solicitors. We are fully aware of the ‘polluter pays’ principle which underpins these charges but, as no cases have progressed through the full process yet, there is no evidence to justify such a big increase.
The Society will continue to scrutinise the SLCC’s annual budgets on behalf of the profession and would encourage the SLCC to review case levy charges when a sufficient number have gone through the process.
The budget for the SLCC budget was approved parliament in April 2009.
Latest News - 19 January 2009
The SLCC has published its proposed budget and levy costs for the forthcoming year. The SLCC is required to consult on its budget and the Society will be responding in mid February. If you wish to comment, please write to the Society at regulationqueries@lawscot.org.uk
The proposed charges for 2009/10
Solicitors with 3+ years experience - £275
Solicitors with 1 - 3 years experience - £138
In-house solicitors - £91
The £200 for mediation will be removed. However fees against a solicitor when the case is upheld will double. As a result the fees will be -
Mediation levy - £0
No complaint upheld - £0
Complaint accepted - first settlement - £500
Complaint accepted - second and further settlement - £700
Formal determination - first - £800
Formal determination - second - £1,200
Formal determination - third and further - £2,000
Latest News - 7 January 2009
In order that the SLCC can get its budget approved by parliament by the end of April (as required by the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007) the SLCC will begin the review and consultation process for its budget this month (January 2009).
When responding to the consultation, the Society will be mindful of the financial burden of the levy on the profession, especially given the impact of the economic downturn.
In terms of timescale, it is likely that invoices for the levy will be issued in April.
Last year the Society set up a working party to assess the allocation of the levy – bearing in mind that the solicitor profession (along with advocates) are obliged to pay for the full cost of the SLCC.
The Council of the Society made a recommendation to the SLCC that all solicitors would pay the same levy except those with less than 3 years experience who would pay half and those who worked in the in-house sector who would pay a third. The working party will soon be reviewing the current recommendation to determine if it is still the most reasonable allocation of the levy.
Part of the review will be a consideration of whether case fees should be higher for those who have a number of upheld complaints against them.
Also under consideration will be the proposed charges for mediation by the SLCC
Views from the profession are welcome and should be emailed to regulationqueries@lawscot.org.uk
Latest News - 25 November 2008
A letter has been issued to all Client Relations Partners in relation to the new complaints procedures. Please see the attached letter "CRP Letter" on the right hand side of this page for further information.
Latest News - 1 October 2008
The SLCC has opened its doors for business
Contact Details
The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission
The Stamp Office
10 - 14 Waterloo Place
Edinburgh
EH1 3EG
LP86 Edinburgh 2
Tel: 0131 528 5111
email: enquiries@scottishlegalcomplaints.org.uk
website: scottishlegalcomplaints.org.uk
Client Relations Partners are reminded to update their firms' complaint procedures to indicate that complaints should be directed towards the SLCC. From now on all firms should keep complete and accurate records of all steps take to resolve complaints.
Latest News - 3 September 2008
The Society will continue to handle conduct matters, with prosecutions still going before the independent Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal. There will be some changes to our processes. These are outlined below.
There is a new category of complaint called unsatisfactory professional conduct. It is the responsibility of the Society to investigate and decide. Unsatisfactory professional conduct falls short of professional misconduct; it carries its own sanctions – a mandatory censure and potentially a fine of up to £2000, compensation to the aggrieved complainer of up to £5,000; an order to undergo training or a combination of these. The unsatisfactory professional conduct category will only apply in cases where instruction commences after 1 October 2008.
In-house complaints investigators
- In-house complaints investigators will take over from reporters in the investigation and reporting on conduct complaints.
- They will assess whether a complaint is either unsatisfactory conduct or professional misconduct professional misconduct and make recommendations to the Professional Conduct Committee
Professional Conduct Committee
- Having received a recommendation from the investigators, the committee will determine the appropriate course of action
- Unsatisfactory Conduct will be dealt with by the committee
- Professional misconduct will be referred to the Scottish Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal
- The Committee will be made up of 50% lay people and 50% solicitors
Regulation Liaison Unit
- Headed by Mary McGowan (currently Deputy Director of the Client Relations Office)
- The new team will also be responsible for liaising with the Commission
- It will give information and advice to the profession and public at each stage of the complaints process and about how the Commission works.
- It will deal with any correspondence and issues that arise, for instance, how to go about investigating a hybrid complaint with elements of both service and conduct.
- The Unit is being formed as a result of a reorganisation within the Client Relations Office and will not be an additional cost to the profession.
Transition
- Service complaints where the instruction was given after 1 October 2008 will be dealt with by the Commission
- Service complaints where the instruction was given prior to 1 October 2008 will continue to be dealt with by the Society.
- Conduct complaints where the instruction was given before 1 October 2008 will be dealt with under the Society’s current system
- Conduct complaints where the instruction was given after 1 October 2008 will be dealt with under the Society’s new system
- Reporters will continue to be used for the service complaints handled by the Society.
Time Limit
- The time limit for complaints will change from 2 years to 1 year
- The time limit is based on one year from the conclusion of service or when a complainer becomes aware of the issue, whichever is sooner.
Latest News - 26 August 2008
From 1st October 2008 all complaints against legal practitioners are to be directed to the new Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC). This single-gateway approach simplifies the process for users and enables clearer reporting which leads to opportunities for improvement.
What will the new Commission be able to do?
All complaints come through the SLCC in the first instance. The Commission deals with complaints about the service provided by legal practitioners. Complaints about conduct are passed to the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates who will investigate them, as they have done in the past.
The Commission also has the power to deal with complaints about the way the relevant professional organisation has handled an investigation. These “handling complaints” were previously dealt with by the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman (SLSO).
What happens to the SLSO?
The office of the SLSO ceases to exist from 1st October 2008. However as part of the transition process, the role of the Ombudsman transfers to the SLCC. The current Ombudsman (who is also Chair of the SLCC) will continue to sign off reports for handling complaints arising from investigations being carried out, or to be carried out, by the relevant professional organisations
What happens with complaints until 1st October 2008?
If you have a complaint now, do not delay making it, as you may risk the complaint being time-barred. All complaints until 1st October should be referred to either The Law Society of Scotland or The Faculty of Advocates.
For more information the Commission’s website can be found at www.scottishlegalcomplaints.com
Latest News - 6 August 2008
Commission announces office location
The Commission has acquired premises at 10 Waterloo Place, Edinburgh (formerly the Stamp Office). The office is currently being fitted out. The Commission continues to prepare for opening on the 1 October. As well as premises, staff recruitment has commenced and IT systems have been identified.
The Commission's draft rules are almost finalised and will be signed off shortly.
The Levy
The Society has collected 75% of the levy due from the solicitor profession. Thank you to members who have paid and a reminder to all those who have yet to do so.
Latest News - 1 July 2008
Commission appoints new chief executive
The Commission has announced the appointment of Eileen Masterman as their first Chief Executive. She is a former Chief Executive of Homes for Scotland and was previously Director of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Scotland. She is currently involved with complaints investigations at the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman and has held similar positions, notably with the Commissioner for Local Administration in Scotland. In addition, she has been a volunteer lay representative dealing with complaints of professional misconduct and poor professional service.
She will take up the post on 11 August 2008.
Shorter Time Limit
To speed up the transition process of service complaints from the Society to the Commission and to provide a consistency of approach thereafter, the time limit for all complaints will be reduced from two years to one year. This will apply from 1 October 2008.
New Classification
Under the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act, the Society has been given the additional power to investigate cases of Unsatisfactory Professional Conduct.
This is a new classification of complaint and one which differs from other conduct complaints as any necessary disciplinary action is determined by the Society rather than the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal.
The Society is currently working on the practices and procedures needed to implement the new complaint category in October 2008. The aim is to have the details available to the profession and the public by September 2008.
Latest News - 4 June 2008
Invoices for the Commission will be sent on 23 June 2008. For more details about the levy cost, please see below.
Latest News - 2 May 2008
The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission has announced its budget.
The Commission's initial budget is for a 9 month period and covers from October 2008 to June 2009. The budget has been set at £2.6 million.
The levy per solicitor for that period is:
- Solicitors with 3 years + experience - £307
- Solicitors with 1 - 3 years experience - £153
- Solicitors working in-house - £102
Advocates will pay a levy of £248
The figures are significantly higher than estimated when the Bill was under consideration but solicitors would at least now have the opportunity to plan their finances accordingly, particularly with a tight timescale for collection. The first invoices will be issued to the profession in June.
The Commission has published draft rules for consultation which can be found at their website at www.scottishlegalcomplaints.com .
Latest News - 30 April 2008
The budget for the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission was today laid before the Scottish Parliament. More detailed information concerning the Commission's budget and levy costs to the profession will be available next week.
Latest news - 24 April 2008
The new Scottish Legal Complaints Commission is set to open its doors to complaints on 1 October this year. It will act as the gateway for all complaints and will handle service complaints. The Society will continue to handle conduct complaints as part of our regulatory work.
The Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act states that the commission is to be funded by the profession rather than the government and that the Law Society of Scotland must collect the levy payments which will fund the Commission from our members.
When originally promoted, the estimated cost of the annual levy was around £200 per member of the Society. Now costs are estimated at between £400 and £500 per solicitor in private practice but the actual cost will not be known until the Commission's budget is finalised. The Society proposed various discounts for newly qualified solicitors and, importantly, those 'in-house' posts. It is anticipated that the Commission's budget will acknowledge these proposals when it is published later this month.
What we don't know
The Society has been urging the Commission to confirm:
- The final budget for the new Commission (due to be laid before Parliament by the end of April)
- The amount of the levy to be collected by the Society
- The rules and procedures for handling complaints
- Whether a start date of 1 October is realistic
What we know
- The Commission plans to open its doors to complaints on 1 October 2008
- The Commission may only accept complaints about service provided from that date but the Society will handle all service complaints arising from the period up to 1 October
- The Society will need to run its systems for handling service complaints for at least another year, retaining current operational capacity and related costs.
- There will be additional administrative, IT and communications costs for the Society to collect the levy and resource its work with the Commission
- The set up costs of the Commission are to be met by the Government
Impact on the Profession:
- The Society has already indicated to solicitors that the levy is likely to be between £400 and £500 for a solicitor in private practice. This uncertainty in the levy is a concern for firms and finance departments which need to budget for this year and the next. The Society has made the profession's concerns clear to the Commission and the Government and has called for clarity on costs.
- The Commission's financial year seems set to run from 1 July and the Commission is likely to demand that the levy is paid to them for that date which leaves a very short time period for the levy to be set and collected. It is likely that the first year's charge will be for the 9 months of operation from 1 October.
The Society
- The longer the Society is left without the information it needs, the less time it has to adapt it processes which will have cost implications.
- The Society will continually update this page with any information it has for members.
- As the budget must be laid before Parliament by 30 April, we hope to be able to give more information to the profession at that time.
- In the meantime the Society will continue to raise the profession's concerns about the uncertainties surrounding the new Commission with the Scottish Government and the Commission.
Latest News - March 2008
The cost of the Scottish Complaints Commission for practitioners is beginning to come clear as the Commission prepares its budget for approval for the Scottish Parliament in April.
As part of the Society’s discussions with the Commission on the practical working arrangements between the organisations, the Society has been consulted (as required by the Legal Profession and Legal Aid Act) on the Commission’s annual levy on solicitors.
The exact amount of the levy is not yet known but many firms and organisations are preparing their budgets for the coming year and as a guide for budget planning, members should be aware that the full annual levy is likely to be between £400 and £500 per solicitor. As the first levy will be for the first six months only, only half the levy will be charged. The Society continues to express its concerns about this amount particularly as it is now more than double the amount that was put before the Parliamentary Finance Committee in 2006.
The Society has recommended to the Commission that there should be reduced Commission levies for in-house solicitors (33% of the full levy), solicitors in their first three years of practice, (50% of full levy for private practitioners and 16% of the full levy for in-house practitioners).
The Legal Aid and Legal Profession Scotland Act 2006 requires Council to collect the levy from each member of the profession. The Society will be asked to collect this first half-year’s levy between July and September this year. The next Commission levy will be for a full year and the Commission is likely to expect collection of the levy early in 2009.
The Board of the Commission has been announced by the Scottish Government. The Board will consist of five non-solicitors and four solicitors. Jane Irvine, the current Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman will chair the Board.
Background
Until now, all complaints about solicitors, whether relating to service or conduct, have been investigated by the Law Society of Scotland. From 2008, the Society will only handle conduct complaints. Service complaints will be dealt with by the new Scottish Legal Complaints Commission. The Commission will be governed by a board with a non-solicitor majority, and a non-solicitor chairperson. The members will be appointed by Scottish Ministers with the involvement of the Lord President.
The aim is for the Commission to start operating by October 2008, although it may be up and running by summer next year. It will be based in Edinburgh.
The Society is represented on the Scottish Executive Steering Group which is looking at issues relating to the setting up of the Commission. The information contained here is intended to keep the profession and the public as informed as possible. Please continue to check this page for updates.
Click here to view Commission Q&As
A series of roadshows will be hosted by faculties across Scotland.
| 6 February |
Kilmarnock |
| 13 February |
Greenock |
| 5 March |
Dumbarton |
| 12 March |
Edinburgh (WS Society) |
| 19 March |
Kirkcaldy |
| 26 March |
Dundee |
If you have any further queries, please email us at
regulationqueries@lawscot.org.uk
