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Complaints procedure
Background
In considering complaints from clients the Board must have regard to:-
> the Civil Legal Aid Act, 1995, and the Civil Legal Aid Regulations;
> the Terms and Conditions of the Private Practitioner Schemes; and
> the Customer Service Action Plan.
Civil Legal Aid Act 1995
Section 30(3) of the Civil Legal Aid Act, 1995 provides that:-
“ The Board may establish and maintain— ( a ) a panel (to be known as “the solicitors’ panel”) containing a list of names of solicitors who are willing to provide legal aid and advice, and
Section 30(4) provides that:-
“Any solicitor or barrister who is prepared to comply with the terms and conditions referred to in subsection (3) shall be entitled to have his or her name included on the appropriate panel unless his or her conduct when providing or selected to provide legal aid or advice or his or her professional conduct generally render him or her unsuitable, in the opinion of the Board, to provide such aid or advice.”
Section 31(4) provides that:-
“ Where a person to whom the Board has decided to grant legal aid or advice has:-
(a) accepted the nomination of a solicitor or selected a solicitor from the solicitors’ panel pursuant to subsection (1) or been granted the services of a solicitor pursuant to an application under subsection (3), or……….. the person may apply to the Board to have the services of that solicitor or barrister dispensed with and the services of another solicitor of the Board or solicitor from the solicitors’ panel or, as may be
appropriate, barrister from the barristers’ panel obtained in the matter and where the Board considers it reasonable in all the circumstances, it may consent to the application.”
Particular Provisions Regarding Private Practitioners
Paragraph 13 of the Terms and Conditions of the Private Practitioner Scheme for the Circuit Court sets out the conditions by which the Board may remove a solicitor from the Panel if it considers that:-
“(a) the solicitor’s conduct when providing or selected to provide legal services or
his/her professional conduct generally render him or her unsuitable, in the opinion
of the Board, to provide such services, or
(b) the solicitor has failed to comply with these Terms and Conditions, or
(c) the solicitor has not participated in the Scheme to a satisfactory level, including
but not confined to his/her refusal on a regular basis to accept a legally aided
person as a client or to give a client appropriate legal advice or aid, or
(d) the solicitor has a medical condition that would render him or her unfit to provide the required service. The Board reserves the right to require medical evidence from a solicitor or to refer a solicitor to a medical practitioner in order to confirm their fitness in this respect”
Paragraph 14 provides that:-
“If the Board decides to suspend or remove a solicitor / firm from the Panel the solicitor will be notified in writing of the grounds for the decision. The solicitor/ firm may, within a period of one month from the date of such notification, appeal in writing the decision to the Chief Executive of the Board setting out the grounds of appeal in full. The Chief Executive may restore the solicitor / firm , if satisfied that a case for restoration to the Panel is made out. Any appeal does not operate to delay or negate the suspension or removal of the solicitor from the Panel, unless the Chief Executive determines otherwise.”
Verbal Complaints
If a verbal complaint is made to the Board or the solicitor every effort should be made to resolve the complaint informally and without recourse to the formal procedures set out below. If it is not possible to resolve a verbal complaint informally, the complainant should be asked to put the complaint in writing and advised that only complaints that have been made in writing will be considered formally by the Board. Where there are language difficulties, the person should be asked to write the complaint in his/her language, which can then be translated. Where there are literacy problems, appropriate assistance should be provided to enable the complaint to be put in writing.
Written Complaints
A written complaint may be addressed to the solicitor or sent to the Board. Where a written complaint is made by a client to the solicitor, the solicitor should send a copy to the Private Practitioner Centre or the RLS, whichever is appropriate. On receipt of a written complaint the Board will:-
> furnish a copy of the written complaint to the private practitioner (if sent directly to the Board);
> request the private practitioner’s comments;
> on receipt of those comments respond to the complainant in writing;
> copy the private practitioner with the response; and
> within reason and if appropriate, engage in ongoing correspondence with the complainant.
If those attempts to resolve the complaint are unsuccessful the Board will:-
> offer the complainant an opportunity to have the matter referred to the Board’s Professional Liaison Officer (PLO); and
> if the complainant requests the complaint be so referred, do so and include with the complaint the comments of the private practitioner.
The PLO will:-
> advise the private practitioner of their observations / findings on the complaint; and
> write to the complainant with their findings and also any observations they may
have on how the complaint might be resolved.
Formal Investigation Following on from a Complaint
If the PLO considers that the nature of the complaint is such that a formal investigation is required into the behaviour of the private practitioner such an investigation will be carried out by a person appointed by the Chief Executive. In carrying out such an investigation, due regard will be had to the need for fair procedures and all relevant material will be provided to the private practitioner.
Issues of Performance
Where any issue is raised by a member of staff in relation to the performance of a private practitioner, the matter is to be referred to the Professional Liaison Officer, or in the case of an asylum / immigration matter, the RLS managing solicitor, who will be responsible for deciding what action, if any, to take in relation to the matter. It will be a matter for the PLO / RLS managing solicitor to determine whether and to what extent any issue of performance should be referred to the individual private practitioner.
Removal of PP from a Panel
In the event that the PLO, or any person appointed by the Chief Executive to carry out an investigation recommends that a private practitioner be removed from the relevant panel, this recommendation will be forwarded to the Director of Legal Aid for a decision. In the event that the Director of Legal Aid determines that a private practitioner should be so removed, the private practitioner who is to be removed will be advised of:-
> the reasons for the decision; and of
> the right to seek a review/and or appeal of the decision by the Chief Executive /an Appeal Committee of the Board within one month of the notification.
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