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How to complain about a solicitor

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) is the single front door for complaints about solicitors in Scotland. This is how to use it.

Use this route if

You instructed a solicitor in connection with your relative's death, or the estate, or your court action, and you are unhappy with the service you received or the solicitor's conduct: for example they let the matter drift, did not do what they were paid to do, or behaved improperly.

Step by step

1. Complain to the firm first. Give the solicitor or firm a fair chance to put it right. The SLCC will normally only take it on after the firm has had that chance.
2. Fill in the SLCC complaint form. Use the online form, or download a paper one, from the page above. The SLCC asks you to use their form because it gives them the permissions they need.
3. Explain what went wrong. Describe the work, what the solicitor did or did not do, and the effect on you. Attach the key papers.
4. Submit it. If you complain online you get an email confirming it has arrived.

The time limit

For complaints made now, you generally have three years to complain. The clock runs from when the legal work was last done for you, or from when the thing you are complaining about happened. The SLCC ignores any period when you could not reasonably have known about the problem. Late complaints are only accepted in exceptional circumstances, so do not wait.

What it costs

Nothing. The SLCC's service is free to you.

What can happen, and how long it takes

The SLCC aims to be in contact within about 10 weeks of receiving your form. If a service complaint is upheld, it can order an apology, a reduction or refund of fees, compensation for loss, compensation for the inconvenience and distress caused, or that the work be put right. Complaints about a solicitor's conduct are passed to the Law Society of Scotland for disciplinary action.