PEOPLE could face a rise in fees for work carried out on their behalf by solicitors across Scotland after lawyers' became involved in a dispute over fees charged by their own complaints' adjudicating body.
Lawyers say there is “unprecedented anger and frustration” among members of the profession over a proposal to hike an annual levy that they pay to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission by eight times the rate of inflation.
The Law Society of Scotland has said the 12.5 per cent fee rise - which is funded by lawyers - will leave clients suffering through higher fees for consultations and other work carried out by solicitors.
The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC), which is funded by the lawyers, has said the proposed increase equates to an annual increase from £332 to £368, a rise of £36 – and applies to around half of those the levy is paid by”. For advocates, there is a £24 and for in-house lawyers it is £15.
But the Scottish solicitors' professional body for Scottish solicitors said the rise was "unacceptable when the rest of the public sector was controlling costs and undertaking strict financial discipline".
The SLCC said the levy increase was the result of a 12 per cent rise in complaints against lawyers over the past year, "many of which are complex cases that take significant resources to resolve".
The legal complaints body said the extra funding will be used to recruit new case workers to handle the increase in complaints and to provide support for lawyers to help them understand the common causes of disputes in order to reduce the potential for complaints within their own practices.
But the Law Society has disputed the SLCC’s justification arguing that recent rises in the numbers of legal complaints equated to only a handful extra each week. "Such numbers should be accommodated within existing budgets", the Society said.
Law Society chief executive Lorna Jack said: “At the heart of the concern is the proposal to increase the annual levy by almost eight times the rate of inflation. In all the years of consulting with solicitors on successive SLCC budgets, we have never experienced such anger in response.
“There is real frustration that the SLCC is coming forward with a substantial increase in its budget at a time when the public sector is facing pressure to control its costs and undertake such strict financial discipline.
"We find it difficult to believe this kind of rise would be suggested or approved if the SLCC was funded by taxpayers’ money instead of a levy on the legal profession. Whilst it is solicitors who fund the vast majority of the SLCC’s spending, consumers should also be concerned as it is clients who ultimately pay through their solicitors’ fees.
“The concern is particularly acute in the public sector, including central and local government as well as the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service, where huge pressure exists on budgets and every line of cost is open to scrutiny and challenge. There are also challenges for solicitors working in legal aid and where some of the smallest firms already find it difficult to sustain their practices.”
The SLCC said it was "obviously disappointed" at the Law Society stance and said: " After five years of SLCC discounting fees by using reserves we now have no choice but to increase it in order to continue serving the public properly.
"In addition to the rise in demand for its services, the SLCC has also had to budget for an increase in the number of appeals and litigation it is involved in following the 19 Court of Session actions brought against it by the Law Society of Scotland.
"We welcome debate across the profession about how the process can be speeded up and streamlined to improve the experience and outcomes for consumers and lawyers, and the best way to reduce cost would be to work together to improve the process and reduce the common causes of complaints.”
The SLCC board is due to meet later in March to fully consider all responses received to their consultation.
It received 1,132 complaints in its last full year with consumers seeking help with resolving issues in areas such as buying and selling houses, civil litigation, the execution of wills and trusts, and family law.
The total amount awarded or agreed on behalf of claimants, including compensation, rebates and refunds, between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2016 was £324,400.
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