Poor service and professional misconduct travel down different routes — this chapter sets out who handles each complaint against a solicitor and what powers they hold.
Everything turns on a single distinction: a complaint about service goes one way, an allegation of misconduct goes another, and the consequences at the end of each route differ sharply. The chapter opens with that split, then works through the Legal Ombudsman in detail — who may complain, the firm's first-tier obligations, the time limits, and the remedies and binding effect of a determination. It then moves to the SRA's side of the framework: the breaches within its jurisdiction, its internal sanctions and intervention powers, and the Compensation Fund that protects clients who lose money through dishonesty or a failure to account. It closes with the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal — who prosecutes there, the standard of proof, how dishonesty is judged and usually punished, and where an appeal lies.
