This article explains how to complain about a solicitor regulated in England and Wales, and which of the two main bodies – the Legal Ombudsman or the Solicitors Regulation Authority – actually deals with your type of complaint. It is general information, not legal advice.
Two different bodies, two different jobs
People often contact the wrong organisation first, which wastes time. The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) are separate bodies with genuinely different roles:
- The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints about the service you received – poor communication, unreasonable delay, overcharging, or a firm not doing what it said it would. It can order compensation to you personally.
- The SRA deals with conduct and regulatory issues – dishonesty, stealing or misusing client money, serious breaches of professional ethics, or a solicitor acting while not properly authorised. The SRA disciplines the solicitor or firm; it does not generally pay compensation to you directly, though a separate SRA Compensation Fund exists for specific situations, such as a firm dishonestly failing to account for your money and being unable to repay it, and grants from that fund are discretionary rather than guaranteed.
Some situations involve both – for example, a firm that lost your money through dishonesty has both let you down on service (LeO territory) and potentially committed serious misconduct (SRA territory). You can raise a matter with both bodies where that’s genuinely the case.
Step 1: always complain to the firm first
Every SRA-regulated firm is required to have a written complaints procedure and to tell clients about it, including who to contact and the time limits involved. Put your complaint in writing, be specific about what went wrong and what outcome you want, and keep a copy. The firm has up to eight weeks to investigate and give you a final response before you can escalate to the Legal Ombudsman – if they don’t respond within that window, or you’re unhappy with their final response, that’s when LeO becomes available.
Step 2: the Legal Ombudsman
The Legal Ombudsman is free to use and independently investigates unresolved service complaints against solicitors and other legal service providers in England and Wales. There are time limits for referring a complaint, generally measured both from when the problem happened and from the firm’s final response – the current time limits are set out in the Legal Ombudsman’s scheme rules, so check these directly rather than assuming, since missing them can mean your complaint isn’t accepted. LeO can direct a firm to apologise, put something right, refund or reduce fees, or pay compensation for distress and inconvenience up to a cap set out in its scheme rules.
Not everyone can use the Legal Ombudsman – it’s aimed at individual consumers and small businesses/charities below certain size thresholds, rather than large commercial clients, and there are some categories of legal work it doesn’t cover. Its website confirms eligibility before you submit a full complaint.
Step 3: the Solicitors Regulation Authority
If what happened looks more like a breach of professional rules than a service failure – dishonesty, a conflict of interest that wasn’t disclosed, misuse of client money held in a client account, or someone practising without proper authorisation – report it to the SRA. The SRA can investigate, and depending on severity, issue a warning, impose conditions on a solicitor’s practice, fine the firm or individual, or refer the most serious cases to the independent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which can suspend or strike a solicitor off. The SRA’s role is protecting the public and regulatory standards generally, not resolving your individual dispute or compensating you – for that, you generally still need the Legal Ombudsman route (or, in the most serious dishonesty cases involving unrecoverable losses, an application to the SRA Compensation Fund).
What to have ready before you complain
- A clear, dated timeline of what happened;
- Copies of relevant correspondence, invoices and the retainer or engagement letter;
- The firm’s final response letter, if you’ve received one;
- A clear statement of what outcome you’re asking for – an apology, a fee refund, compensation, or a regulatory investigation.
If your complaint involves both money and conduct
It’s legitimate to complain to the Legal Ombudsman about the service failure and separately report the conduct issue to the SRA – they run independently of each other. Be aware, though, that the SRA’s process is about regulatory outcomes (protecting the public, disciplining the solicitor) and won’t itself get your money back; keep pursuing the Legal Ombudsman route, or a separate legal claim, for that.
How long the process typically takes
Timelines vary a lot depending on the complexity of the complaint, but a firm’s internal process generally has up to eight weeks before you can escalate, and the Legal Ombudsman’s own investigation can take longer for more complex cases than a straightforward billing dispute. Being organised from the outset – a clear written complaint, a full set of supporting documents, and a specific outcome you’re asking for – tends to keep things moving faster than a vague or informal complaint that leaves the firm or the Ombudsman having to chase you for clarification.
Sources
- Legal Ombudsman – legalombudsman.org.uk
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, reporting a concern – sra.org.uk/consumers/problems
- SRA Compensation Fund – sra.org.uk/consumers/compensation-fund
- Citizens Advice, complaining about a solicitor – citizensadvice.org.uk