The Law Society has voiced concerns over plans to publish the names of solicitors who fail their clients.
The legal ombudsman announced this week that he plans to name and shame lawyers who let down their clients if they are repeat offenders or where it is in the public interest to do so. Surely it's hard to resist such a development in this age of consumer empowerment and in a newly deregulated and increasingly competitive legal services market? Well, not entirely. The Law Society isn't thrilled at the prospect of its members being hauled over the coals.
I spoke to the ombudsman, Adam Sampson, last week. So what kind of firm (or lawyer) will be outed? Sampson explained that it would be those firms where there is "either an individual action or a pattern of activity" which made him consider that it was in the public interest that they should be identified.
"So if somebody does something really, really dodgy, or there is a general pattern of lower-level dodginess, to the extent that we think that there is a danger that consumers are going to be badly served, we will name," said the former chief executive of the homeless charity Shelter.
The ombudsman took the following example from some 72,000 calls, emails and letters from disgruntled clients to his office. It involves a couple (Mr and Mrs M). They bought a new home and instructed a self-described specialist conveyancing law firm.
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Read more - http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/nov/10/ombudsman-lawyers-name-and-shame?newsfeed=true
