The Law Society and its members have been punished unfairly, says Des Hudson
The decision by Zahida Manzoor, the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner, to fine the Law Society £275,000 for the perceived inadequacies of its complaints handling plan for 2008–09, was a decision we strongly disagreed with.
That might seem an obvious statement, but if the Legal Complaints Services (LCS) performance was poor, we would be in a position to put our hands up and accept the punishment and move forward. That is certainly not the case in this instance, however.
The Law Society and its members have been punished in spite of improving standards for consumers on complaints handling to a level which matches or exceeds that of other complaints handling bodies.
To make a comparison with school, an improving pupil whose marks are rising would not be punished with a detention or sent to the head's office for a telling off. The commissioner, however, has handed out this fine despite the LCS's improving record in the sphere of consumer redress.
