In the previous year, two-thirds of the nearly 1,300 grievances lodged against legal professionals were related to supposed misconduct, according to the regulatory body for legal services. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) concluded inquiries into 1,432 complaints in 2023, upholding only eight per cent of them (111 cases).
Almost half (699) of the concluded grievances were dismissed because they were deemed inadmissible, while ten per cent (138 cases) were not upheld. There were 30 cases involving suspected misconduct that were submitted to the independent Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal for further investigation, and in 12 cases, the regulator petitioned the High Court for enforcement orders against the lawyers involved.
The LSRA, which has been operational since late 2019, presented its annual report on Wednesday, stating that it received 1,290 complaints throughout 2023, a decrease of four per cent compared to 2022. The majority of these complaints (1,233) were against solicitors, with a lesser number (57) concerning barristers.
Most grievances, about 65 per cent, centred on supposed misconduct such as tarnishing the reputation of the profession, communication failings, and dishonest practices. Moreover, 19 per cent of the complaints focused on substandard legal services particularly on matters including litigation, conveyancing, family law and probate. Moreover, two per cent of grievances implied exorbitant charges, and the rest (181) were founded on mixed grounds.
Dr Brian Doherty, LSRA’s chief executive, endorsed the growth in the number of consumers and legal practitioners attempting to resolve their complaints informally, a process spearheaded by the regulator’s complaints staff and trained mediators. There were 256 grievances informally resolved in 2023, a significant increase from the 61 recorded the previous year. However, he explained that such an approach wasn’t suitable for all types of complaints against legal services or expenses but, when used appropriately, could serve as a highly efficient method for sorting out issues or disputes voluntarily.
The yearly summary presents a detailed analysis, deriving from each county, of the 1,290 complaints lodged during 2023. The largest quantity, 525, which equates to 41% of grievances, was targeted at legal professionals located mainly in the county of Dublin. Following that, complaints were lodged against practitioners in Cork, Limerick, and Kerry, accounting for 10%, 5%, and 4% respectively. It should be noted that a single legal professional may be subjected to several complaints.
The summary indicates a consistent increase in the authorisation requested from the LSRA by groups of solicitors to function as limited liability partnerships (LLPs). A total of 36 LLPs were authorised in 2023, 20 of which are located in Dublin, adding up to a total of 482 LLPs.
LSRA maintains an online directory of barristers entitled to provide legal services in the state. By late 2023, the register recorded a total of 3,051 barristers, a 3% rise from 2022. In this total, 2,139 were members of the Law Library and 921 were operating independently of it.
The primary source of LSRA’s funding comes from a levy imposed on barristers and solicitors. In 2022, this fee was nearly €302 per barrister affiliated with the Law Library, €286 per barrister not affiliated with it and €414 per solicitor.