I'll rename that Tune in three...or four, or possibly even five as at January 2007

And the lies go on...

Make no mistake about this:

The Law Society is a chameleon. It camouflages itself yet the beast remains unchanged. The Law Society is reportedly splitting into two distinct entities: The Solicitors Regulation Authority, and The Legal Complaints Service. The SRA now has its own page on UnjustIS Here

Which? issues several Press Releases.

Also see: Breaking News, Lawyers For Your Business, News Roundup and the speech on Legal Services Reform by the Lord Chancellor, 21 March 2005

Review of the Regulatory Framework for Legal Services in England and Wales - Sir David Clementi issues Final Report 15 Dec 2004

News September 2006: Law Society to name new arm ‘Solicitors Regulation Authority’. Yet more window dressing by the Law Society. See also the registrant details in the table below.

In the early nineteen nineties complaints against solicitors were handled by the Solicitors' Complaints Bureau (SCB). Its name almost implied independence from the Law Society, but it was little more than a token acknowledgement of the seriously high level of complaints made each year. It was slow, inefficient, biased in favour of solicitors and the Law Society, and left many complainants wondering why they had bothered. Facing increasing pressure from the Lord Chancellor's Department, consumers' groups and the media, including the infamously critical Channel 4 Dispatches programme, the Law Society resorted to a makeover.

Amid a fanfare of publicity the SCB was reborn in the Autumn of 1996 as the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS). It promised improved objectivity in its regard for the complainants' views, better communication and a determination to clear the SCB's legacy - a massive backlog of unresolved complaints. During its brief existence the OSS was led by a succession of directors and officers, including the lamentably inept Jim Wagstaffe.

To be fair to Mr Wagstaffe, I should also include Mr John Plane, Deputy Director of the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors in December 2000, and Barry Maine, who was previously an officer of the Solicitors' Complaints Bureau. Let's also mention Dale O' Callaghan, who stated that nothing could be done about struck off solicitors continuing in practice, their being readmitted to legitimate solicitors' firms notwithstanding. Andrew Bain, of course, had little to say about the matter, and Jayne Farrin, Head of Professional and Public Relations was also similarly disempowered. Wendy Clayton is another story, as is Anthony Reheusser, and I am sure that Miss Z M A Rudder, Secretary to The Committee, also has a tale to tell.  Need I go on..? Okay - I'll go on, but later.

The backlog grew, and so did the level of complaints received as members of the public became less reticent about standing up for themselves. Crass and dishonest solicitors in the meantime gleefully enjoyed the certainty that the chances of their being held to account were slim at best.

As of 19 April 2004 the Law Society has again rebranded the SCB/OSS to the newly named Consumer Complaints Service (CCS), which makes similar promises to those made for its predecessors. Don't hold your breath as I suspect that this new change will change nothing. It is, in fact, a joke at your expense as all these so-called professionals are laughing at you. Including I.R.B Stevens, Assistant Director of the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors.

Update Jan 2007:

The legal trade press also seems to have been struggling to comprehend all the different incarnations of solicitors' regulatory and representative entities. The Law Society is attempting to split its regulatory and representative functions, as detailed below.

Paul Bantock

13 April 2005

Updated Jan 2008

Victims of the solicitors' profession will find further useful information in the Information for Victims section.

Further reading

Solicitors' lie detector

Compensation for Inadequate Professional Services

Press review

Struck off

Rogue Traders

Marcel Berlins

Lawyers for your Business

Was: The Law Society's Consumer Complaints Service

Now: The Legal Complaints Service
Victoria Court
8 Dormer Place
Leamington Spa
Warwickshire
CV32 5AE
Tel: 0845 608 6565

Or: 01926 820082

Links:

Solicitors Regulation Authority

Legal Complaints Service

Same addresses, same telephone numbers, and without doubt the same obfuscatory, unhelpful staff.