FEARS have been raised that serious conduct complaints about solicitors in Scotland could be slipping through the net due to a "gap" in the system.
Robert Claase, a 71-year-old from Forres in Moray, said he was left feeling "powerless" after trying to complain about a solicitor through the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC).
He told the Sunday National how he had unearthed a potential "gap" in the system where conduct complaints may go unseen by regulator Law Society of Scotland, the body responsible for investigating conduct issues.
In Scotland, complaints about solicitors are initially dealt with by the SLCC which categorises them into "service" or "conduct".
But if the organisation does not deem something to be a "conduct" complaint, there is no mechanism by which that decision can be independently reviewed or the matter investigated by the Law Society of Scotland.
The only way someone can challenge a decision by the SLCC is by going through the Court of Session in 28 days, a process Claase has described as a "nightmare".
The SLCC has the power to investigate service complaints, looking into the quality of work a solicitor has carried out during the course of a transaction.
Claase said this set-up appears "to create a situation in which a single classification decision can prevent any investigation of potential misconduct".
Over a period of several years, he made five complaints about a solicitor, all of which were thrown out by the SLCC.
He claimed the system is set up "to protect" solicitors.
He told the Sunday National: "There is a real sense of powerlessness when there appears to be no route to have a [conduct] concern properly considered or investigated.
"The issue raises wider questions about whether the current system provides adequate safeguards to ensure that all potential misconduct concerns can be independently assessed.
"As a man with no legal training and no advice, you are left in limbo by a legal process that is overtly against complaints against solicitors.
"I'm quite dogged when I feel my rights have been abused, and that's what I feel. It's set up to protect them [solicitors].
"I'm disgusted with the whole process. There is very little comeback for the man on the street."
In 2017, the Law Society lost an appeal after it challenged the SLCC’s decision on the way it categorises complaints after it began to classify some as “hybrid”.
The Court of Session had ruled that single issues within a legal complaint must be categorised as either service or conduct, and the SLCC’s practice of classifying an issue as both was ruled unlawful.
But following an appeal, Lords Glennie and Turnbull in the majority opinion said the SLCC had the power as a matter of law to re-categorise complaints and that it was not “unreasonable or irrational” to do so.
In an email seen by the Sunday National, the Law Society of Scotland confirmed to Claase that the decision of the SLCC on whether something is a conduct issue is final, and it cannot take any further action.
The regulator said: "If the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) rejects a conduct complaint, the Law Society of Scotland cannot investigate it further.
"The SLCC operates as the mandatory gateway for all legal complaints in Scotland. If they determine your complaint is ineligible, the decision is final and no further action can be taken by any party."
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Law Society said: "The Scottish Parliament has been clear that decisions around how a legal complaint is categorised for investigation should be a matter for the SLCC.
"While we always investigate conduct complaints referred to us by the SLCC, the initial decision on the classification is a matter for them as a separate and independent body."
The SLCC said it cannot comment on individual cases but added: "We consider every complaint made to us carefully. Anyone who thinks they may wish to make a complaint about any lawyer or firm can contact us to discuss this with one of our team”.
