How to Complain About a Solicitor: The Legal Ombudsman and the SRA
Complain to the firm first; it has eight weeks to respond. Poor service then goes to the Legal Ombudsman, dishonesty or rule breaches to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and financial loss from bad advice becomes a negligence claim.
Key points
- Complain in writing to the firm first; it must have a complaints procedure, cannot charge for handling your complaint and has eight weeks to give a final response.
- The Legal Ombudsman handles poor service free of charge: complain within a year of the problem and six months of the firm's final response; awards are capped at £50,000.
- The Solicitors Regulation Authority deals with dishonesty and rule breaches, not service; it can fine, restrict or close a firm and refer solicitors to the Disciplinary Tribunal.
- Losses caused by negligent advice are claimed in court within six years, or three from discovery, against the firm's compulsory insurance; the Compensation Fund covers stolen client money up to £2 million.
- A bill can be challenged through the firm, the Ombudsman or a court assessment under the Solicitors Act 1974, as of right within one month of receiving it.
If a solicitor has let you down, you complain to the firm first, in writing, and it has eight weeks to put things right. If that fails, poor service goes to the Legal Ombudsman, which is free and can order compensation, a refund or a reduced bill up to a total of £50,000; dishonesty or serious rule-breaking goes to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which disciplines solicitors but does not compensate you; and a loss caused by negligent advice is pursued as a professional negligence claim, usually against the firm's insurers. This guide explains each route in England and Wales, the time limits, how to challenge a bill, the Compensation Fund, complaints about other lawyers and how to check a firm first.
Step one: complain to the firm
Every firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) must have a written complaints procedure and must tell you at the outset, usually in the client care letter, how to use it and about your right to go to the Legal Ombudsman. Put the complaint in writing to the person the procedure names, often a complaints partner or the compliance officer. Set out the facts in date order, say what went wrong (delay, unanswered calls, ignored instructions, a mistake, a bill far above the estimate) and say what you want: an apology, work finished by a date, a fee reduction or compensation for a specific loss.
The firm must deal with the complaint promptly, fairly and free of charge, and it has up to eight weeks to give a final written response, which must tell you how to take the matter to the Ombudsman. Complaining does not end your retainer. If trust has gone, you can move to another firm, which will ask for your file. The old firm can hold papers until its reasonable fees are paid, but it will normally release them against an undertaking to pay what is properly due.
The Legal Ombudsman: poor service
The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) deals with complaints about the service you received from a lawyer you instructed: delay, poor communication, failing to follow instructions, failing to explain costs, losing documents, discourtesy and bills that bear no relation to the estimate. It covers every regulated lawyer, not only solicitors. You must usually have been the client, although individuals, small businesses with fewer than ten staff, small charities, clubs and trusts, and some non-clients such as beneficiaries of an estate the lawyer administered can all complain.
The time limits in the scheme rules in force since 1 April 2023 are tight. You must refer the complaint within one year of the act or omission, or within one year of when you should reasonably have realised there was cause to complain, and within six months of the firm's final response. If the firm has not responded within eight weeks you can go straight to the Ombudsman. The limits can be extended in exceptional circumstances.
You start online, by phone or by post. Staff check the complaint is within the scheme, an investigator gathers both sides' accounts and the file and issues a case decision, and either side can then ask an ombudsman for a final decision. If you accept the final decision it binds the firm and can be enforced through the court; if you reject it, you keep your right to sue. The service is free to you; the firm pays a case fee.
Remedies include an apology, a refund or reduction of fees, compensation for financial loss and for distress and inconvenience, and an order to put the work right. The total value of what can be directed, including compensation, fee refunds and the cost of putting things right, is capped at £50,000 by section 138 of the Legal Services Act 2007. Most awards are far smaller.
The scheme is under review. Between June and September 2026 the Office for Legal Complaints consulted on changes to the scheme rules, including a 12-year long-stop for historic complaints, revised case fees and publishing more decisions; any changes need the approval of the oversight regulator, the Legal Services Board, which has voiced significant concerns about the viability of the scheme as currently constituted, and an externally led review of the Ombudsman's operating model is planned for 2026/27.
The SRA and the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal: misconduct
The SRA is the regulator, not a complaints service. It investigates reports that a solicitor or firm has breached the SRA Standards and Regulations: dishonesty, misuse of client money, acting with a conflict of interest, misleading a court or a client, breaching an undertaking, practising without a current certificate, or running a clone firm. It does not investigate ordinary poor service or billing disputes, and it cannot order a solicitor to compensate you or apologise, so a service complaint sent to the SRA is redirected to the Ombudsman. You can report to both where the facts justify it, and the Ombudsman passes conduct concerns it uncovers to the SRA.
After investigating, the SRA can give advice or a warning, impose conditions on a practising certificate, issue a rebuke or a fine (its own fining limit for solicitors and traditional firms was raised to £25,000 in 2022, with far higher limits for alternative business structures and, under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, no limit for economic crime matters), and in serious cases intervene to close a firm and take control of its files and client money. The gravest cases go to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, an independent tribunal that can impose unlimited fines, suspend a solicitor or strike them off the roll. Decisions of both bodies are published on the solicitor's regulatory record.
The Compensation Fund: when client money has gone
If a solicitor has stolen or failed to account for your money, or you have lost out through a firm's dishonesty or through negligence that its insurers will not cover, you can apply to the SRA Compensation Fund, a discretionary fund paid for by the profession. Grants are capped at £2 million per claim. Individuals can apply, as can businesses, charities and trusts with turnover, income or assets under £2 million, and you should apply within 12 months of becoming aware of the loss, although later applications can be accepted. The fund generally does not cover fraud by outsiders, such as a hacked email diverting a house deposit, unless the firm itself was at fault.
Professional negligence: when bad advice cost you money
Poor service and negligence overlap but are not the same. Negligence means the solicitor fell below the standard of a reasonably competent practitioner and the failing caused a measurable loss: a missed limitation date that killed a claim, a conveyancing search not carried out, a settlement accepted at an undervalue, or a will drafted so badly that a beneficiary lost out. Losses within the £50,000 cap can be pursued through the Ombudsman more cheaply; larger losses need a court claim.
Under the Limitation Act 1980 you have six years from the negligent act, or three years from when you first knew the essential facts if that is later (section 14A), subject to an absolute long-stop of fifteen years (section 14B). The Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol then applies: a preliminary notice to the firm, a detailed letter of claim, an acknowledgement within 21 days and a letter of response within three months, followed by negotiation or mediation before proceedings. Every firm must carry professional indemnity insurance of at least £2 million per claim (£3 million for companies and limited liability partnerships), so there is normally an insurer to pay. Specialist solicitors often act under no win no fee agreements for strong claims, and the stages of a civil claim are set out in the guide to dispute resolution and litigation.
Disputing a bill
Start by asking for a breakdown and compare it with the estimate you were given: the SRA Code of Conduct requires firms to give you the best possible information about costs at the start and as the matter develops, and the SRA Transparency Rules require published prices for conveyancing, probate, motoring offences, immigration applications and employment claims. If the breakdown does not justify the figure, complain to the firm and then to the Ombudsman, which can reduce or refund fees.
The alternative is a formal assessment of the bill by the court under section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974. Within one month of receiving the bill you can apply as of right; after one month but within twelve months the court has a discretion to order an assessment; once twelve months have passed or the bill has been paid, you must show special circumstances; and no assessment is possible more than twelve months after payment. If the bill is reduced by a fifth or more the firm pays the costs of the assessment, otherwise you do. A firm cannot sue on a bill until a month after delivering it. The court's Guideline Hourly Rates, updated on 1 January 2026, show what judges regard as reasonable (from £142 an hour for a trainee outside London to £579 for a senior London solicitor); they are a yardstick on assessment, not a cap on what a firm may agree with you. The guide to how much solicitors charge explains the charging methods.
Barristers, other lawyers and the rest of the UK
Complaints about a barrister's service go to the barrister or chambers first and then to the Legal Ombudsman, while conduct concerns go to the Bar Standards Board. Chartered legal executives are regulated by CILEx Regulation, licensed conveyancers by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, costs lawyers by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board and notaries by the Faculty Office; the Ombudsman handles service complaints about all of them. Unregulated providers such as will writers, legal consultants and paid McKenzie friends are outside the Ombudsman and every regulator, leaving only Trading Standards and the courts, so check regulation before paying anyone for legal work. The guide to the difference between solicitors and barristers explains who does what. In Scotland complaints go to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission, and in Northern Ireland to the Law Society of Northern Ireland, overseen by the Legal Services Oversight Commissioner.
Checking a firm before you instruct it
Most complaints are avoidable at the start. Look the firm up on the SRA's Solicitors Register, which shows whether it is authorised, who its solicitors are and any published regulatory decisions, and check that the website, email domain and bank details match the register entry to avoid clone firms. Ask for the client care letter and complaints procedure before you commit, a written estimate or fixed fee, the name of the person doing the work and their supervisor, and how often you will hear from them. Residential conveyancing and probate are consistently among the areas generating the most complaints, mostly about delay and communication, so when choosing property solicitors or wills and probate solicitors, ask how many matters each fee earner is handling.
On this site, firms marked as verified have had their SRA record checked through the verification process; listings that are not verified have not been checked and should be looked up before you make contact. You can browse property solicitors in Nottingham, solicitors in Leicester or your own area through the solicitors near me search. If you cannot afford a solicitor to help with a complaint or a negligence claim, Citizens Advice and the sources in can I get legal help for free? are the place to start.
Frequently asked questions
Can I complain about the other side's solicitor?
Not to the Legal Ombudsman, which deals only with lawyers who were acting for you, apart from narrow exceptions such as beneficiaries of an estate. You can, however, report the other side's solicitor to the Solicitors Regulation Authority if their conduct breached professional rules, for example by misleading you, making threats that have no basis, or taking unfair advantage of you when you had no lawyer. The SRA can discipline them but will not award you compensation.
How long does the Legal Ombudsman take?
Longer than most people hope. After initial checks a complaint waits to be allocated to an investigator, then goes through investigation, a case decision and, if either side asks, an ombudsman's final decision. The Ombudsman has reported significant backlogs in recent years and does not guarantee a timescale, so expect the process to take months. Simple complaints that both sides are willing to settle can be resolved more quickly at the early resolution stage.
Do I have to keep paying my solicitor while I complain?
You should pay the parts of the bill you do not dispute. Withholding the disputed part is common, but the firm may add interest if its terms allow it and may decline further work or hold your file until payment. If you want the court to assess the bill, apply within a month of receiving it so you do not have to show special circumstances later. Paying a bill in full does not stop you complaining to the Ombudsman about it.
What happens to my money and papers if the firm has closed down?
If the Solicitors Regulation Authority has intervened and shut the firm, an intervention agent takes control of client files and the client account and will return your documents and any money that can be traced on request. If money is missing because of dishonesty or a failure to account, you can apply to the SRA Compensation Fund within 12 months of discovering the loss. Negligence by a closed firm is normally covered by its run-off insurance, which lasts six years after closure.
Is a complaint to the Ombudsman the same as suing for negligence?
No. The Ombudsman is free, informal and looks at whether the service was reasonable, but its awards are capped at £50,000 and it must be approached within a year of the problem. A negligence claim is a court case with a six-year limit, no cap and the risk of paying the other side's costs if you lose. If you accept an Ombudsman decision you cannot then sue for the same loss, so take advice before accepting where the loss may be large.
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This guide describes the law in England and Wales as at 30 October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice about your situation; the law and the figures it quotes change, so check the position with a solicitor before acting. LawFirms.co.uk is a directory and does not provide legal services.