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Complaints about legal profession up 12% – LSRA

A report from the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) shows that 829 complaints were made about legal practitioners over its latest six-month reporting period. 

This represented an increase of 12% compared with the previous six months. 

The report gives details of the number and nature of complaints about solicitors and barristers received and investigated during the period from 7 September 2024 to 7 March 2025.

Compensation 

Overall, the regulator directed legal practitioners to pay a total of €88,300 in compensation to their clients in the period. In addition, it told practitioners to refund or waive a total of €12,982 in fees. 

During the six months, the LSRA received 801 complaints about solicitors and 28 related to barristers, reflecting the higher number of solicitors and their greater level of contact with consumers. The authority points out that multiple complaints may be brought against an individual practitioner. 

A breakdown of the types of complaints that the LSRA can investigate shows: 

• 453 complaints (55%) were about alleged misconduct only,
• 179 complaints (22%) related only to legal services of an inadequate standard,
• 13 complaints (2%) were linked to excessive costs (overcharging), and
• 184 complaints (22%) were mixed complaints, with a combination of misconduct, inadequate legal services, and excessive costs. 

Mediators help settle 27 complaints 

Of the 839 complaints that were closed in the six-month period, one-third were deemed inadmissible, while almost 30% were settled with the LSRA’s assistance – including 27 with the help of its mediators. 

The regulator upheld 96 complaints, representing 11% of the total, while 108 (13%) were not upheld. 

The LSRA’s complaints committee referred 41 complaints of alleged misconduct to the separate Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal (LPDT). 

The report also details the LSRA’s enforcement activities against solicitors who did not comply with its directions or determinations in complaints made about them. 

During the six-month period covered in the report: 

• 18 pre-action letters were issued to practitioners seeking their compliance with LSRA directions or determinations within a set time period of time,
• Nine enforcement proceedings were issued, seeking orders from the High Court directing compliance by legal practitioners with LSRA directions or determinations, and
• The LSRA obtained 13 High Court orders. 

Family-law focus 

The latest report contains a section on family-law complaints, which the LSRA says focuses on lessons for legal practitioners and the public that have emerged from complaints in that area. 

The authority stresses that the category makes up only 7% of total complaints about legal practitioners. 

“We highlight the need for solicitors to provide clear and ongoing information in relation to their costs to their clients in family-law proceedings,” says LSRA chief executive Dr Brian Doherty. 

“Based on the complaints received, this is a clear area where legal practitioners could improve their communications,” he adds.