UK Law Society Faces £1 Million Fine If Complaints Handling Not Improved

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

29 July 2004

The maximum fine that the UK's Law Society could face if its complaints handling procedures are not significantly improved has been reduced from the original £5 million mooted by the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) earlier this year to £1 million, following consultation with various professional bodies.

According to the DCA, the fine level for industry bodies was reduced after it was pointed out that a £5 million fine could completely wipe out smaller organisations such as the Institute of Legal Executives.

Legal Services Ombudsman (and soon to become Legal Services Complaints Commissioner) Zahida Manzoor has welcomed the change as "appropriate", observing that:

"Given the Law Society's income, £1 million is a lot of money that it will have to find if its systems are not up to the level they should be."

Meanwhile, Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva told the Law Gazette that:

"We are very pleased that the Lord Chancellor has accepted our arguments for a more sensible and realistic maximum fine. However, the reduced limit will not diminish our efforts to avoid a fine being considered in the first place."

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