SIGN UP NOW
buy one get one free
Podcasts:
  • Course
  • Aims and Outcomes
  • Speaker
  • Resources
Legal Complaints Service

This episode of the Law Report focuses on the work of the Legal Complaints Service. This is an update level course.



The SRA regulates more than 100,000 solicitors in England and Wales. It’s purpose is to protect the public by ensuring solicitors meet high standards and by acting when risks are identified.

The LCS was previously known as the Consumer Complaints Service (CCS) and, before that formed part of the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS).

The LCS has 390 dedicated staff and handles over 300 calls a day on a range of legal complaints. It handles complaints about poor service and about solicitors’ bills. Complaints about solicitors’ misconduct are dealt with by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Under the Legal Services Act, the role of the LCS will eventually be taken over by the Office for Legal Complaints.

The information in this podcast represented the legal position when it was recorded on 08/11/2007

This podcast is only available for registered users, you need to or Login or Sign up to be able to listen to it.

Your Account
Aims and Outcomes

This podcast explores in detail the role and strategy of the Legal Complaints Service, including the sort of complaints it deals with and how it handles them.

It will be useful for any legal professional wanting to understand more about the role of the LCS and how it deals with complaints.

The interview lasts for 30 minutes. It will take you a further 20 minutes to complete the questionnaire. You will need to get 50 per cent of the questions right to gain your CPD.

Learning outcomes

After listening to the interview, you will understand:

  • The role and remit of the LCS
  • How the LCS works
  • The relationship between the LCS, the Law Society and the SRA
  • What will happen to complaints when the Office for Legal Complaints is set up
  • The main activities and behaviours that lead to complaints
  • What consumers expect from legal services
  • How solicitors can try and prevent some of these complaints
  • What the LCS is doing to help solicitors deal with complaints
  • Strategic issues arising from the miners’ compensation scheme
John Deane
Professor Shamit Saggar

Shamit Saggar is the chair of the board of the Legal Complaints Service. He is also professor of political science at the University of Sussex and a member of the Better Regulation Commission, the RSA Migration Commission and the Wilton Park Academic Council.

He was previously a senior policy adviser at the Prime Ministers' strategy unit in the Cabinet Office, a Yale world fellow at Yale University, a member of the boards of the Financial Services Authority and the National Consumer Council, a governor of the Peabody Trust and a non-executive director at the Whittington Hospital NHS Trust.