IT is encouraging to see in this year's Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) annual report that there has been a fall in the overall numbers of complaints.
("Lawyers failing to tell clients how to complain", The Herald, December 18). It is also positive that so many are being resolved directly between solicitors and clients without intervention from the Law Society or the Commission.
However it will still be important to learn from the commission's analysis of trends in complaints so we offer further guidance and training to help solicitors improve further.
It is essential that we have an effective and efficient system in place for the relatively small number of occasions when things do go wrong and complaint is made. The system of co-regulation with the SLCC, Law Society and independent Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal is still bedding in from the 2007 and 2010 reforms. The system is not perfect but we have a clear picture of how things can be improved. We will continue to work together, and with government, to drive forward improvements for the benefit of the public and the profession.
Carole Ford,
Convener (non-solicitor),
Regulatory Committee for the Law Society of Scotland, 26 Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh.
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