Craig Hill
KC Hill
Paladin
Oracle of DelphiComplaints About Lawyers
July 6th 2006 07:55
You seem to be a forthright person of good fame and character, said the lawyer to a witness on the stand.
If I wasn't under oath, I'd return the compliment, replied the witness.
So, you think your lawyer is a greedy, dishonest bastard.
Well, despite what the average person believes, most lawyers are good people. They are hard-working, intelligent men and women who base their lives around assisting and representing others. Sure, you might get a bad grape in the bunch, but that’s the same with any profession.
Luckily, there is a mechanism in place to deal with the bad grape. In NSW, the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner receives complaints about lawyers and may either investigate it or refer it to the relevant Law Society or Bar Association for investigation.
A client can therefore make a complaint about his or her lawyer in writing, outlining the alleged conduct being complained of and the particular practitioner it applies to. Complaints can be made at any time but it is best to do so within 3 years after the conduct occurred otherwise the process of the complaint involves a lot more paperwork, time and effort on the part of the complainant.
If the complaint provides insufficient detail, or is frivolous, it will be dismissed without any investigation. On the other hand, should the complaint have substance and investigations reveal there was some sort of misconduct by the practitioner, the matter may either be referred to mediation, concluded by way of cautioning the lawyer, reprimand or by making a compensation order.
In cases of serious misconduct and breaches of the professional code, the Commissioner will commence proceedings in the Administrative Decisions Tribunal. The Tribunal then has the power to strike off the practitioner from the roll, cancel, suspend or restrict the lawyer’s practising certificate or make other relevant orders.
So there you go. If your lawyer really is a lying, greedy bastard, let the Commissioner know. He’ll do something about it.
If I wasn't under oath, I'd return the compliment, replied the witness.
So, you think your lawyer is a greedy, dishonest bastard.
Well, despite what the average person believes, most lawyers are good people. They are hard-working, intelligent men and women who base their lives around assisting and representing others. Sure, you might get a bad grape in the bunch, but that’s the same with any profession.
Luckily, there is a mechanism in place to deal with the bad grape. In NSW, the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner receives complaints about lawyers and may either investigate it or refer it to the relevant Law Society or Bar Association for investigation.
A client can therefore make a complaint about his or her lawyer in writing, outlining the alleged conduct being complained of and the particular practitioner it applies to. Complaints can be made at any time but it is best to do so within 3 years after the conduct occurred otherwise the process of the complaint involves a lot more paperwork, time and effort on the part of the complainant.
If the complaint provides insufficient detail, or is frivolous, it will be dismissed without any investigation. On the other hand, should the complaint have substance and investigations reveal there was some sort of misconduct by the practitioner, the matter may either be referred to mediation, concluded by way of cautioning the lawyer, reprimand or by making a compensation order.
In cases of serious misconduct and breaches of the professional code, the Commissioner will commence proceedings in the Administrative Decisions Tribunal. The Tribunal then has the power to strike off the practitioner from the roll, cancel, suspend or restrict the lawyer’s practising certificate or make other relevant orders.
So there you go. If your lawyer really is a lying, greedy bastard, let the Commissioner know. He’ll do something about it.
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Comment by Bunbury
Comment by Legally Brunette
My Wedding
It's sad that the public perception is so negative because some of the most interesting people in the world have legal backgrounds - the only example I can think of right now is Jerry Springer, but I'm sure there are lots of others!!
Comment by Stanley
Comment by Samantha
But the lawyers that represented my parents in thier last court case cost them everything. As for speaking to the commisioner or getting him to review the case it is almost impossible, My parents are going to the supreme court in 3 months thier Solisitor can no longer represent them, she was upset when she broke the news to us, so where we, I don't have any complaints about her, she did the best she could, But here is the case in a nut shell, a solisitor double charges using two ABNS, The accused (scum Bag) lies in court, is cought out by the judge on Purgery and is allowed to appeal after we won the case, The accused lawyer was a personal aquatence of my parents, My parents originally got involved with the accused when his wife threw him out, later charging him with rape, (his wife a former prostitute), used frozen sperm, She got 64K victoms comp, and later used it as a deposit jointly with the accused to buy a house which is worth almost 1mil now, hows that for fairness of the legal system, I have 2000 pages of reports and evidence to go through with no help we can no longer afford a solisitor or barister and who will help me now, The accused stole my families life savings, we won the case and now its in the supreme court and 6yrs later, it is still going on, another intresting bit I should add, is that one of my parents former baristers commited suicide and the scandal was all over the papers. But no matter how juicy the story is thier is no help for me, I have to do this on my own. If anyone knows a short cut on how to reach the commisioner please let me know.
Comment by Legally Brunette
My Wedding
Otherwise, have you thought about legal aid options? And solicitors who do pro bono work, that is, they'll represent you for free? Most large firms have a sector in which its practitioners provide pro bono legal services. Otherwise you could go to a community legal centre and talk to someone there. They will tell you where to go and who to talk to.
Best of luck with it all.