The Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 (LCA) establishes a framework for complaints and disciplinary action, including the establishment of a complaints service.  

The Lawyers Complaints Service (LCS) facilitates the administration of the complaints process by:    

• receiving and managing incoming complaints about lawyers, incorporated law firms, and employees of lawyers or incorporated law firms.
• conducting initial assessments of complaints and considering whether no action should be taken on the complaint, or whether the complaint should be referred to a Standards Committee 
• communicating with the parties involved 
• where required, compiling complaint material ready for a Standards Committee’s consideration. 

Complaints are required to be in writing and must include certain information.  Once a complaint has been received, the LCS will acknowledge receipt of the complaint and undertake an initial assessment of the complaint to make sure it meets the requirements to be accepted.   

Initial assessment 

The LCS will undertake an initial assessment of the complaint and either:  

1. Determine that no action or no further action is required, or  
2. Refer the complaint to a Standards Committee. 

The LCS can only decide to take no action if it considers that one of the following apply: 

• any delay in making the complaint has made an investigation impracticable,  
• the subject matter of the complaint is trivial,  
• the complaint is frivolous, vexatious or not made in good faith,  
• the aggrieved person does not wish for further action to be taken,   
• the complainant has insufficient personal interest in the subject matter of the complaint, or   
• there is a more suitable alternative course of action available, such as making an application to the court.   

Early Resolution Service

During the initial assessment, the LCS will also consider whether the complaint can be resolved upfront between the parties. This may involve talking to the complainant about what they consider to be a suitable outcome, or contacting the lawyer on the complainant’s behalf to ask if they would be willing to consider resolving the complaint.   

If a complainant and the lawyer they're complaining about are both willing, matters could be resolved by the LCS Early Resolution Service or through more formal negotiation, conciliation or mediation processes

Initial decision

If the complaint progresses beyond the initial assessment and is unable to be resolved at that stage, it will be allocated to a Standards Committee for consideration. Once a complaint has been referred to it, a Standards Committee may: 

• decide to take no action or no further action on the complaint 
• ask the parties to explore negotiation, conciliation or mediation to resolve all or part of the complaint 
• decide to inquire into the complaint 

The parties to the complaint will be advised, as soon as practicable, of the Standards Committee’s decision. 

Inquiry

If an inquiry is commenced, the Standards Committee may delegate part of this to a PSO, a costs assessor or a special investigator. Once the Standards Committee has all the information it considers relevant, it will decide whether to continue its inquiry and set the matter down for a hearing.

Hearings and findings

Unless the Standards Committee indicates otherwise, hearings are on the papers and parties do not appear in person. After holding a hearing, a Standards Committee can make one of the following determinations: 

• Decide that no further action is warranted 
• Find that the lawyer's conduct (or incorporated law firm's conduct) was unsatisfactory  
• Decide that the matter may amount to misconduct and should be referred to the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal. 

If a Standards Committee makes a finding of unsatisfactory conduct, it has a wide range of orders that it can make, including:¹ 

• That some or all of the terms of an agreed settlement (made at mediation) be all or part of a final determination of the complaint 
• Censuring or reprimanding the lawyer, or ordering an apology to be made 
• Ordering the lawyer to pay compensation up to $25,000 (for actual loss) 
• Ordering that fees be reduced or cancelled or refunds made and errors or omissions rectified 
• Ordering that a lawyer’s practice be made available for inspection 
• Ordering a lawyer to take management advice and undergo training or education 
• Fining a lawyer up to $15,000 
• Ordering a lawyer to pay costs of the inquiry and/or costs/expenses of complainant 

Section 156 Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006

How to respond to a complaint 

If you are asked to respond to a complaint: 

• Be prompt with your response and any follow up questions 
• Respond to all allegations made in the complaint by listing them out separately, however, you should ensure your responses are clear and succinct.  
• If you do not want to answer a particular point (if a matter is before the Court, for example) explain why 
• If a complaint is justified, acknowledge this, if appropriate, and apologise. 

If you are finding it difficult to respond, you could ask someone else in your firm to review the file and prepare the response on your behalf. In some firms this is done routinely. If you are a sole practitioner, ask another sole practitioner or your attorney. You can also talk to someone on the Law Society’s Complaints Advisory Panel.  

¹Under s156 of the LCA