Solicitors’ body upheld less than 50 of 1,039 complaints

MORE THAN 1,000 complaints involving over 10% of the country’s solicitors were lodged in a year, it has emerged from the annual report of the profession’s independent adjudicator.

Less than 50 were upheld by the profession’s governing body, while one solicitor was found guilty of misconduct by a disciplinary tribunal, according to the report.

The adjudicator, Eamonn Condon, said there had been a decrease of over 7% in the number of complaints, despite an increase in the number of solicitors.

“This should not be interpreted as a sole measure of progress but is, nonetheless, a most satisfactory trend,” said Mr Condon, delivering his fifth annual report since his 1997 appointment by the Law Society.

Overall, there were 1,039 complaints of inadequate service, overcharging and misconduct lodged in the 12 months to August 2002. More than 700 cases were closed by the end of the year, while 258 remain under investigation by the society’s complaint section. More than 20 are to be dealt with under High Court disciplinary rules.

Law Society director general Ken Murphy said the 1,000 complaints had to be looked at alongside the estimated 600,000 cases and other matters the country’s 6,172 solicitors deal with every year.

“We are very pleased to see the numbers reduced in this way. It’s a reversal of previous trends, and a reduction by 7% in a two-year period in which the profession grew by 11% is a striking move in the right direction,” he said.

Mr Condon was concerned about the number of solicitors with multiple complaints against them. Figures show 71 attracted 290 complaints, including two with 10 apiece.

Describing the figures as “stark”, Mr Condon urged the society to study the cause and suggested the body might withdraw practising certificates “at the higher end of the scale of multiple complaints”.

He also condemned solicitors for snubbing an investigation committee. Forty solicitors under investigation who were asked to attend a meeting of the Registrar’s Committee did not show. “This represents a situation where 18% of those called ignored the authority of the society and frustrated the effective investigation of serious complaints,” said Mr Condon.

Mr Murphy described this as deplorable, but said powers under the 2002 Solicitors Act will allow for fines of up to €3,000 for those failing to attend committee meetings.

Mr Murphy also challenged the widely held perception that complaints are not thoroughly investigated because of self regulation. The director general said there was independent oversight at all levels. Apart from the adjudicator, outside members sit on the registrar’s committee and on disciplinary tribunals, which are under the control of the president of the High Court.