Professional Conduct Complaint

The Law Society of Northern Ireland can investigate professional conduct complaints including breaches of the Solicitors (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 as amended, and breaches of the Society’s various regulations made there including failure to reply to correspondence, breaches of undertakings, allegations of misuse of client money, failure to discharge expert witness costs etc.

Please note that some conduct matters may raise allegations of fraud and professional negligence which are outside of the Law Society’s statutory and regulatory remit.

Solicitors have an obligation pursuant to Regulation 25 of the Solicitor’s Practice Regulations 1987 as amended to notify the Law Society of any regulatory breach by Solicitors colleagues.  

This can be done using the Law Society’s whistleblowing policy a copy of which available to download on our website by clicking here.

Should you wish to make a conduct complaint please complete the online conduct complaint form and return same to the Law Society with copies of all relevant documentation.

The Professional Conduct Department through the Professional Conduct Committee considers matters relating to the professional conduct of solicitors. As the statutory regulator of solicitors, the Law Society is obliged to investigate complaints received in relation to the professional conduct of solicitors in Northern Ireland.

Depending on the nature and review of the information provided, the Law Society may take different types of action in respect of a solicitor, which may include:-

• taking no action (where there are no grounds to do so);
• taking no action at present but keeping the information for further use in the exercise of its regulatory functions;
• initiating correspondence to obtain and evaluate further information which may result in taking no action;
• using the information to increase the supervision of a solicitor or their firm;
• using the information provided as part of a formal, potentially broader, investigation of a particular solicitor or firm;
• disciplinary action.  

If the Law Society thinks it is appropriate to do so, it may disclose the information a complainant has provided to the solicitor, firm and to third parties.  

Where a solicitor is asked to respond to the Law Society’s enquiries, they will be required to review their file in detail and substantiate their response with supporting documentation where appropriate.  Upon receipt of the solicitor’s response it may be necessary for the Law Society to raise further enquiries with complainants, the solicitor or relevant third parties.  Accordingly, while the Law Society aims to deal with the matter within 26 weeks this may not always be possible, and it may take longer to complete a full and effective investigation.  

Depending on the outcome of the Law Society’s enquiries the matter may be referred to the Professional Conduct Committee for their consideration.  Complainants will be advised of the outcome of any decision made by the Professional Conduct Committee as will the relevant solicitor(s).  There may, however, be times where the Law Society can provide only limited information regarding the regulatory and/or any other action that is being taken.

The Society’s Privacy Notice, which is available below, explains how the Law Society will manage complainant’s personal data during the complaint investigation.

The Law Society cannot give complainants legal advice.

Accordingly, complainants should seek independent legal advice in respect of the issues raised and pursue any legal remedies available, or to make such other reports to agencies such as the PSNI, as may be appropriate, in accordance with the general law in Northern Ireland.

Once your conduct complaint has been received it shall be reviewed by the Professional Conduct team to determine whether same can be registered for investigation.

If your complaint is not registered you will be contacted and advised of the reasons why the Law Society cannot assist i.e., if there are live proceedings before the Court or the issues that you raise are not matters for the Law Society to consider.

Where the complaint is registered for investigation, it shall be assigned to a Caseworker, and you will receive the Society’s triage letter confirming that a complaint has been commenced. This will usually result in the conduct complaint form and accompanying documents, you have provided, being shared with the solicitor for their comment.

Upon receipt of the solicitor’s reply, the relevant Caseworker may need to raise further enquiries with you prior to progressing the matter to the Professional Conduct Committee (“the Committee”) for determination.  There may, however, be instances where the matter does not need to be referred to the Committee for consideration i.e., the complaint has been resolved or subsequently withdrawn.

A Caseworker will, where appropriate, keep you updated of the progress of the complaint.

Depending on the nature of the complaint the Law Society may have to take specific regulatory action which they are unable to disclose to you in the first instance.

Where the Committee consider the complaint both you and the relevant solicitor will be provided with a letter advising of the determination of the Committee. There may, however, be times where the Law Society can provide only limited information regarding the regulatory and/or any other action that is being taken.

The Committee may:

• make further enquiries
• uphold the complaint
• not uphold the complaint
• issue a warning letter to the solicitor or
• make a referral to the independent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, the PSNI or other statutory Agencies.

The Committee are unable to review their decision in the absence of any change in circumstance or where there is no new and material evidence relevant to the complaint.

While the Law Society aims to conclude complaint investigations within 26 weeks there may be instances where this timeline cannot be adhered to.

Please find below the Conduct Complaint Privacy Notice for download:

Conduct Complaint Privacy Notice