Complaints Procedure - Ogletree Deakins

Our aim

We aim to deal promptly, fairly, and effectively with any complaint a client may have about any aspect of our service.

Our complaints handling policy

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. When something goes wrong, we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our service. There is no question of any charge being made for the time taken to resolve a complaint.

How to complain

If you have a complaint, please give the details (by letter, email or telephone) to the partner with whom you feel you have the closest relationship. If you have not dealt directly with a partner, please contact the partner named in our engagement letter as the partner responsible for supervising your matter. We will send you a letter acknowledging your complaint within three business days of receiving it.

Where a quick resolution of your complaint is possible

It is possible that, after investigation, the partner to whom you first submitted your complaint can quickly resolve it to your satisfaction, in which case s/he will record in writing to you the agreed manner of resolution.

Where a quick resolution of your complaint is not possible

If, however, your complaint is not promptly resolved to your complete satisfaction, you should notify (by letter, email or telephone) the partner first contacted by you that you require your complaint to be elevated for investigated by another official of the Firm.

What will happen next?

Your complaint will be forwarded to the one of the current Executive Partners of the firm, who will:
- send you a letter acknowledging your request for an investigation of your complaint and enclosing a copy of this procedure; and
- nominate an appropriate person unconnected with your matter (the “investigator”) to review your matter file and speak to the member of staff who acted for you.
The investigator will then invite you to discuss and hopefully resolve your complaint. S/he will do this within fourteen (14) days of the date of the letter from the Executive Partner acknowledging your request for an investigation.
Within seven (7) days of the discussion, the investigator will write to you to confirm what took place and any solutions s/he has agreed with you.
If you do not want discuss your complaint with the investigator, or if doing so is not possible, the investigator will send you a written reply to your complaint, including his/her suggestions for resolving the matter, within twenty-one (21) days of the date of the letter from the Executive Partner acknowledging your request for an investigation.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

Within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint; and
No more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
No more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint.

For more information about the Legal Ombudsman contact:

www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Call: 0300 555 0333 between 9.00 to 17.00.

Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Legal Ombudsman PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.