We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it.  This will help us to improve our standards.

If you have a complaint, please contact us with the details.

In the first instance we would point out that you should not feel obliged to use this formal complaint procedure – you can tell us about a problem informally and we will do our best to put things right. If that is the case, then we would ask that you raise this with the fee earner who had conduct of your matter (or their supervisor). They will attempt to settle any dispute that you may have.

If you do find yourself in the position of wishing to raise a formal complaint then please send us details of your complaint by either email, letter, or telephone.

What will happen next?

  1. We will send you a letter acknowledging receipt of your complaint within three days of receiving it, enclosing a copy of this procedure.
  2. We will then investigate your complaint. This will normally involve passing your complaint to our Head of Costs, Anil Virji (Email: anil.virji@civilandcommercial.com, Tel: 0207 842 5953), who will review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you. Anil is a Regulated Costs Lawyer (see paragraph 8, below).
  3. Anil will then invite you to a meeting to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. He will do this within fourteen days of sending you the acknowledgement letter. Within three days of the meeting, Anil will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions he has agreed with you.
  4. If you do not want a meeting, or it is not possible, Anil will send you a detailed written reply to your complaint, including his suggestions for resolving the matter, within twenty one days of sending you the acknowledgement letter.
  5. Please be aware we have eight weeks to consider your complaint and provide you with a final written response.
  6. If, after having exhausted our complaints procedure, you still remain dissatisfied with the outcome you should direct your concerns to the Legal Ombudsman, contactable at PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ or by telephone on 0300 553 0333 or by email at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk. Any complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must be made within six months of receiving a final written response from us about your complaint or within six years of the act or omission about which you are complaining occurred (if outside of this period, within three years of when you should reasonably have been aware of it).  Please note, some clients may not have the right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman but this will be explained to you if applicable to your matter.
  7. There are also alternative dispute resolution schemes that exist such as the ADR Group (160 Fleet Street, London, EC4A 2DQ, Web address: www.adrgroup.co.uk, Email: casemanagement@adrgroup.co.uk, Phone: 020 3600 5050) should we both wish to use such a scheme. Generally, we do not choose to use them.
  8. If the work was undertaken by a Costs Lawyer, who is regulated by the Costs Lawyers Standards Board (CLSB), then they (CLSB) can investigate complaints about that Costs Lawyer’s professional conduct. The CLSB will consider complaints made within twelve months of the date on which the matters giving rise to the complaint occurred or the date on which you first became aware that you had grounds for the complaint. This period can be extended in exceptional circumstances. It should be noted that the CLSB will usually expect you to allow us to try and resolve your complaint first. The CLSB can be contacted at Centurion House, 129 Deansgate, Manchester, MW3 3WR or by telephone on 0161 214 7904 or by email at enquiries@clsb.info

If we have to change any of the timescales above, we will let you know and explain why.