Complaint Process

Consumer complaint Process

Step 1: Receipt of Complaint

Upon receipt of a complaint about a lawyer, the regulator (in this case, the NSW Legal Services Commissioner) is required to conduct a preliminary assessment of the complaint.  At this stage the NSW Legal Services Commissioner may confirm the allegations being made and, sometimes, request further information from the complainant and/or the lawyer.

Step 2: Preliminary Assessment

Once any such confirmation or further information has been received from the complainant, and/or the lawyer, or if no confirmation is required from the complainant, the preliminary assessment is completed. At this stage, the complaint will either be closed or attempts at informal resolution will begin.

Step 3: Informal resolution

• If attempts at informal resolution commence, the complaint is forwarded to the lawyer for comment.  The lawyer will be requested to provide a response in relation to the complaint within a specified timeframe (at least 21 days).
• When a response from the lawyer is received, it is ordinarily forwarded to the complainant for further comment.
• Submissions and offers from the complainant and the lawyer in relation to the issues raised in the complaint may be exchanged a number of times.
• The complaint will be closed if the parties can come to a mutual agreement on the resolution of the complaint.

Step 4: Outcome

When informal resolution cannot be achieved, the NSW Legal Services Commissioner decides how to conclude the complaint.   At that point there are a number of options available depending on the material that has been provided and evidence available.

The NSW Legal Services Commissioner will consider:

• Whether it is appropriate to make a consumer matter determination to resolve the complaint. The NSW Legal Services Commissioner may make various orders including cautioning the lawyer, an order requiring an apology from the lawyer, an order requiring the lawyer to redo the work at no cost or to waive or reduce their fees, an order requiring the lawyer to undertake training or counselling or a compensation order. The NSW Legal Services Commissioner may also make a binding determination about costs.
• If any disciplinary matters arise as to warrant further action or investigation.

If the NSW Legal Services Commissioner does not make a consumer matter determination or find that a disciplinary matter arises, the complaint will be closed.

Step 5: Notification of outcome

The complainant and the lawyer will be notified in writing of the NSW Legal Services Commissioner’s decision and be given a statement of reasons for the decision.

The process outlined above can take some time.  It is not uncommon for a complaint to take 6 months to a year to be finalised, sometimes longer.