Edward Connor Solicitors (ECS) is, uniquely, a law firm fully regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), and a charity fully regulated by the Charity Commission. We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service. We may not always get it right, so if you think something has gone wrong, including in relation to our charges, we want you to tell us. This will help us to improve.
We need to distinguish between complaints made by clients and complaints made by non-clients, because very different rules, and different procedures, apply. The SRA’s detailed rules mainly relate to the legal services we provide to our clients — but see below on complaints about solicitors’ behaviour more generally.
As part of our operations as a charity, we are aware of the Charity Governance Code, principle 7. We aim for openness and accountability in communicating and consulting effectively to help build trust and confidence with stakeholders. This includes how we aim to deal with complaints.
1. How do I make a complaint?
- 1. 1 You can contact us by phone, by email or by writing to us at 10 The Point, Market Harborough, LE16 7QU. If you call us and want to make a formal complaint (see below), please state that clearly.
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If you are a client of ECS and want to complain about our work for you:
- 1.2. It is always helpful as a first step, to contact the person working on your case to discuss any concerns about our service, or any queries on our bill, informally and at no cost. We genuinely welcome these discussions because we want to listen and learn. We will do our best to resolve any issues. If you are uncomfortable discussing your concerns with your usual contact, please contact the person responsible for the overall supervision of your file. They will be named in the engagement letter we sent you at the beginning of your matter.
- 1.3. If you are not satisfied with their response, and want to move on to a formal complaint, please mail us at [email protected] or write to us at 10 The Point, Market Harborough, LE16 7QU clearly marked as ‘Formal Complaint’ and ‘Strictly Confidential’. If you are unable to make a complaint in writing, please call our office on 01858 411 568 and ask to speak to our Deputy Managing Director.
- 1.4. To help us to understand your complaint, and so that we do not miss anything, please tell us:
1.4.1 your full name and contact details and the client you represent;
1.4.2. what you think we have got wrong;
1.4.3. how you would like your complaint to be resolved; and
1.4.4. your file reference number (if you have it). -
If you are not a client of ECS and want to complain about our behaviour or processes:
- 1.5. Please contact [email protected] or write to us at our address as in 1.3 and 1.4 above. When setting out your complaint, please let us know specifically how you think ECS’ dealings with you, as a non-client, have fallen short of what is required. This could include our operations as a charity – our standards, processes, actions or lack of action. Please note the points in 7.2 below around how we need to respect client confidentiality and legal privilege.
2. How will you deal with my complaint?
2.1. We will write within five working days, acknowledging your complaint and enclosing a copy of this policy.
2.2. Someone at a senior level within the firm, who was not involved in the original matter, will investigate the complaint. We will let you know who they are. This will usually involve:
2.2.1. reviewing your complaint;
2.2.2. (if you are a client) reviewing your file(s) and other relevant documents; and
2.2.3. speaking to the person who dealt with your matter
2,3, We may need to ask you for further information to help us process your complaint properly.
2.4. Communication is important, so we will keep you updated on progress, and any delays.
2.5. We will write to you at the end of our investigation to tell you what we have done and what we propose to do to resolve your complaint. We will aim to do this within one month of our acknowledgement, though some complaints are more complex and will take more time to investigate. If so, we will let you know. Finally, sometimes broader obligations outside our control (e.g. to regulators or insurers) can delay our response.
3. Appeal to the ECS Board
3.1. If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the investigation, you have the right to escalate the matter further to the Board of ECS. You can do so by contacting our Chair, Kevin Appleton ([email protected]), or if Kevin is not available, our Vice-Chair, Richard West ([email protected]). If your complaint is about Kevin, please contact Richard direct. You can also write to Kevin or Richard by post via 10 The Point, Market Harborough, LE16 7QU, clearly marked as ‘Formal Complaint’ and ‘Strictly Confidential’.
3.2. The Board will then review the appeal, and will provide a definitive response within two months. Those reviewing the appeal will not have been involved in the original investigation. This response is the final stage from ECS.
4. What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint
Legal Ombudsman
4.1. The Legal Ombudsman processes focus on complaints from clients around service levels, but they do accept complaints from non-clients in certain limited cases.
4.2. If we have not resolved your complaint within eight weeks you may be able to complain to the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman scheme only applies to members of the public, and to very small businesses, charities and trusts — if you are unsure whether you qualify, you can contact legalombudsman.org.uk to check. The Legal Ombudsman will look at your complaint independently.
4.3. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of our final response to your complaint. You can also lose the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman if you wait more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about or more than one year from when you realised there was a concern.
4.4. If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, please contact them.
Contact details:
Visit: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Call: 0300 555 0333
Email: [email protected]
Address: Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
5. What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour
5.1. The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. Visit SRA | Solicitors Regulation Authority | Solicitors Regulation Authority to see how you can raise your concerns.
5.2. You may also, at any time complain directly to the Charity Commission. Please see its website The Charity Commission – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for the types of complaint it can investigate.
6. What will it cost?
6.1. We will not charge you for handling your complaint. The Legal Ombudsman service is also free of charge.
7. Confidentiality
7.1. All complaints will be handled confidentially within ECS. Where appropriate, the relevant information will be shared within the firm to allow us to investigate and respond properly.
7.2. If you are not a client complaining about work we have done for you, you should note we are bound by client confidentiality and legal privilege. So there will be significant restrictions around our sharing of the content and nature of the information exchanged, and advice and discussions we have had with our client, which may mean that we cannot give substantive responses to all aspects of your complaint.
8. Continuous improvement
8.1. We are committed to continually reviewing and improving our procedures to ensure good client service and fulfilment of our charitable objectives.
8.2. The ECS Board will be told about complaints (in anonymised form where appropriate), even when they are not appealed to the Board. They will review complaints regularly to note any themes and areas to be addressed.
Contact information
Email: [email protected]
Address: 10 The Point, Market Harborough, LE16 7QU
Call: 01858 411 568 and ask for the Deputy Managing Director.
(For appeals to the ECS Board):
Kevin Appleton (Chair): [email protected]
Richard West (Vice-Chair): [email protected]