SLCC report underlines need for regulatory reform

A report published today, Wednesday, 8 March, has underlined the need for substantial reform to the processes for handling legal complaints.

In response to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission report analysing conduct complaint investigation timescales, David Gordon, Convener of the Law Society’s Regulatory Committee, said: “We want to see reforms to the current regulatory structure to bring in better protections for the public.

“We are committed to reducing the time taken to investigate and process conduct complaints. We have already introduced changes that have led to improvements and we continue to monitor their impact.

“However, it’s widely accepted that the current complaints system just does not work. It is too slow and too complicated. Much of this is down to the constraints imposed by the current legislation, some of which is over 40 years old.

“We have argued for almost a decade for new legislation to create a modern, agile regulatory system that is fit for today’s legal sector. A key part of that is to improve the complaints system and bring in measures which will simplify and speed up the process, making a real difference for all those involved.

“Publication of the SLCC report today further underlines how the Scottish Government’s upcoming Bill must overhaul the complicated and bureaucratic processes so complaints can be dealt with and action taken much more quickly.”

The Scottish Government intends to bring forward new legislation to reform legal services regulation in this parliamentary session.