Complaint information relevant to the Digital Economy Bill

John Fletcher made this Freedom of Information request to Solicitors Regulation Authority

The request was successful.

From: John Fletcher

28 February 2010

Dear Solicitors Regulation Authority,

I believe that whilst not currently subject to the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), the SRA has chosen to act in good faith by
creating their own code under which you attempt to meet all FOIA
obligations when information is requested.

In all requests I wish to know information specific to complaints
initially made to the SRA (and not the LCS) unless separation is
not possible, in which case combined figures are acceptable. This
information is of interest to me for the potential impact of the
Digital Economy Bill on the legal profession.

I therefore would like to request the following information:

1. The total number of complaints received by the SRA against
Solicitors in 2008 and in 2009 (summarised by month).

2. The total number of complaints received by the SRA against
Solicitors in 2008 and 2009 (summarised by month) relating to any
form of intellectual property law.

3. The total number of complaints received by the SRA against
Solicitors in 2008 and 2009 (summarised by month) made against a
Solicitor who is not representing and has not ever represented the
complainant (i.e. the subject of the complaint is acting for a
third party whom is pursuing the complainant).

4. The total number of complaints received by the SRA on the
conduct of solicitors relating to peer to peer intellectual
property disputes (2008 to present, summarised by month); and the
number of firms the complaints relate to.

5. The total numbers of complaints meeting the criteria in question
4 which are (or were) unresolved more than six months after initial
complaint. Also, the total number which remain (or remained)
unresolved after more than one year since the initial complaint was
made.

6. The nature of any extraordinary circumstance which has prevented
the resolution of any complaint meeting the criteria in question 4
beyond the 12 month target set by the OLSCC.

7. The average (or estimated) number of progress updates (i.e. more
significant than an acknowledgement) provided to complainants in
complaints meeting the criteria of question 4.

8. The number of complaints meeting the criteria in question 4
which have been resolved, and the average satisfaction rating from
customer comments questionnaires provided for these complaints.

I thank you for your time and look forward to receiving your
response to my request.

Yours faithfully,
John Fletcher

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From: Joao Curro
Solicitors Regulation Authority

1 March 2010

Dear Mr Fletcher

Freedom of Information Request - Our Ref: FOI/BS/354

Thank you for your email dated 28 February 2010 to the Solicitors
Regulation Authority (SRA) requesting information under the Law Society's
Freedom of Information Code of Practice.

You have requested access to the following information:

1. The total number of complaints received by the SRA against
Solicitors in 2008 and in 2009 (summarised by month).

2. The total number of complaints received by the SRA against
Solicitors in 2008 and 2009 (summarised by month) relating to any
form of intellectual property law.

3. The total number of complaints received by the SRA against
Solicitors in 2008 and 2009 (summarised by month) made against a
Solicitor who is not representing and has not ever represented the
complainant (i.e. the subject of the complaint is acting for a
third party whom is pursuing the complainant).

4. The total number of complaints received by the SRA on the
conduct of solicitors relating to peer to peer intellectual
property disputes (2008 to present, summarised by month); and the
number of firms the complaints relate to.

5. The total numbers of complaints meeting the criteria in question
4 which are (or were) unresolved more than six months after initial
complaint. Also, the total number which remain (or remained)
unresolved after more than one year since the initial complaint was
made.

6. The nature of any extraordinary circumstance which has prevented
the resolution of any complaint meeting the criteria in question 4
beyond the 12 month target set by the OLSCC.

7. The average (or estimated) number of progress updates (i.e. more
significant than an acknowledgement) provided to complainants in
complaints meeting the criteria of question 4.

8. The number of complaints meeting the criteria in question 4
which have been resolved, and the average satisfaction rating from
customer comments questionnaires provided for these complaints.

The SRA is a part of the Law Society but acts independently in carrying
out its regulatory functions. The Law Society is not covered by the
Freedom of Information Act (the FOIA) as it is not a designated authority,
but has adopted its own voluntary Code of Practice which closely reflects
the FOIA. The Code may be found at:

[1]http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/documents/d...

I am currently dealing with your request. Bob Stanley, Information
Compliance Manager will aim to respond formally by 29 March 2010 which is
20 working days from the receipt of your request.

Yours sincerely

Joao Curro
Information Compliance Officer - Legal Services
The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL
t: 020 7242 1222 (Ext 4539)
f: 020 7320 5685
[2]www.lawsociety.org.uk
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From: Joao Curro
Solicitors Regulation Authority

22 March 2010

Request Response.xls
29K Download View as HTML

Dear Mr Fletcher

Freedom of Information Request - Our Ref: FOI/BS/354

Further to my colleague Joao Curro's email of 01 March 2010, please find
below the response to your request for information under the Law Society
Freedom of Information Code of practice (the Code).

You have requested access to the following information:

1. The total number of complaints received by the SRA against
Solicitors in 2008 and in 2009 (summarised by month).

2. The total number of complaints received by the SRA against
Solicitors in 2008 and 2009 (summarised by month) relating to any
form of intellectual property law.

3. The total number of complaints received by the SRA against
Solicitors in 2008 and 2009 (summarised by month) made against a
Solicitor who is not representing and has not ever represented the
complainant (i.e. the subject of the complaint is acting for a
third party whom is pursuing the complainant).

4. The total number of complaints received by the SRA on the
conduct of solicitors relating to peer to peer intellectual
property disputes (2008 to present, summarised by month); and the
number of firms the complaints relate to.

5. The total numbers of complaints meeting the criteria in question
4 which are (or were) unresolved more than six months after initial
complaint. Also, the total number which remain (or remained)
unresolved after more than one year since the initial complaint was
made.

6. The nature of any extraordinary circumstance which has prevented
the resolution of any complaint meeting the criteria in question 4
beyond the 12 month target set by the OLSCC.

7. The average (or estimated) number of progress updates (i.e. more
significant than an acknowledgement) provided to complainants in
complaints meeting the criteria of question 4.

8. The number of complaints meeting the criteria in question 4
which have been resolved, and the average satisfaction rating from
customer comments questionnaires provided for these complaints.

Please find attached a spreadsheet with the requested information.

<<Request Response.xls>>
I trust that the above information resolves your request.

Yours sincerely

Bob Stanley
Information Compliance Manager - Legal Services
The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL
t: 020 7242 1222 (x4117)
f: 020 7320 5685
[1]www.lawsociety.org.uk
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From: John Fletcher

22 March 2010

Dear Bob Stanley / Joao Curro,

I thank you for your response to date, however I am slightly
disappointed with the answers given to questions 5 and 6, and as
such consider it a partial response at present.

You state in question 5 that cases have been grouped together, but
you must have available the date the complaint was made and the
date on which it was assessed and grouped into one of the three
investigations. As such, you must be able to provide a figure as to
the number of individual complaints that were logged more than 6
months ago (and more than one year ago) that have been grouped into
one of the three investigations. I would like to know the number of
complaints which fit these criteria, as stated in the original
question 5.

You state in question 6 that you cannot retrieve extraordinary
circumstances from your database. Whilst I appreciate you are not
subject to the Freedom of Information Act, you claim in good faith
to abide by it. In which case could you confirm whether or not you
hold this information (even if not in database format). It is my
understanding that all complaints open more than 12 months must be
reported to the OLSCC, and appropriate reasons given for why the
case has not been closed within the target time. As such, there
must be a record of the reasons for the extension for the
investigation, as given to the OLSCC. I would appreciate this
information.

I know you must be busy, but I'd like to request you progress this
clarification request as quickly as possible, ideally fitting
within the original time line of ~28 March. If this is not possible
please let me know when I might be able to expect a response.

Thank you, yours sincerely,

John Fletcher

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From: Joao Curro
Solicitors Regulation Authority

23 March 2010

Dear Mr Fletcher

Thank you for your email.

Please find below the response to your questions.

Question 5

As all of the complaints were dealt with under 3 investigation files,
which would have a single point of completion, I had only answered the
question in relation to the investigations. The breakdown you have
requested is shown below.

The one investigation that has now been completed related to 14
complaints. The time between the complaint being logged and the overall
investigation completion was:

1 complaint that was 6 months old or less
3 complaints between 6 and 12 months
10 complaints over 12 months

The breakdown for the two ongoing investigations as at today:

139 complaints that are 6 months old or less
146 complaints between 6 and 12 months

To clarify:
6 months old or less relates to 0 - 183 days
Between 6 and 12 months relates to 184 - 365 days
Over 12 months - 366 days or more

Question 6

We did provide the OLSCC with a monthly report, which showed both the
numbers of Conduct and Redress Conduct files that were over 12 months old.
However, the OLSCC target on files over 12 months old did not continue
after March 2009. There was therefore no longer a requirement to produce a
spreadsheet that listed reasons for files being over 12 months old. This
data is therefore not held.

I trust the above information resolves your request.

Yours sincerely

Bob Stanley
Information Compliance Manager - Legal Services
The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL
t: 020 7242 1222 (x4117)
f: 020 7320 5685
[1]www.lawsociety.org.uk
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From: John Fletcher

23 March 2010

Dear Bob Stanley,

Thank you for the extra information, I now consider the request to
have received a full response. Thanks again.

Yours sincerely,

John Fletcher

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