For the Public
How Do I Make A Complaint?
Complaint Process
Once it has been determined that the Law Society has the
jurisdiction to review the conduct of a lawyer and
a complaints form is received by our office, a
copy of your letter of complaint will be forwarded to the lawyer.
The lawyer will be asked to respond within 10 days to the Law
Society to explain the circumstances that resulted in the
complaint. If a response from the lawyer is not forthcoming, the
Law Society may initiate disciplinary proceedings on
the lawyer's failure to reply.
Once the lawyer's response is received, it will be evaluated by
the Complaints Counsel and, in most cases, a copy will be forwarded
to you for further comment. We appreciate receiving your response
within 14 days to avoid delays in the handling of the
complaint.
After this exchange of correspondence has been completed, the
Complaints Counsel will review the file material and determine
what, if any, further steps are required. In some cases, the
complaint may involve some unfulfilled task or other problem that
can be readily dealt with by the lawyers. In these circumstances,
the Law Society may attempt to resolve the problem through
mediation.
After the necessary information has been obtained and
considered, the Complaints Counsel will take one of the following
courses action:
(i) Forward your complaint to
either the Discipline, Professional
Standards or Ethics Committee for
further review and direction.
(ii) Direct no further action
as your complaint does not raise an issue of conduct or
competency with respect to the lawyer.
You will be given the opportunity to apply for a review of
the Complaints Counsel's decision not to take further
action. If you seek a review, your file will be forwarded to
the Complainants' Review Committee for their further review and
directions.
We take all complaints seriously and attempt to deal with them
as expeditiously as possible. We would advise that the
discipline process of the Law Society is not
confidential. Hearings are open to the public and
materials received by the Law Society will be forwarded to the
lawyer. If you have any concerns about the subsequent use of these
materials, please contact the Law Society to determine
whether privilege or confidentiality requirements may apply.
Complainants' Review is the procedure by which a complainant may
appeal a decision of 'no further action' by Complaints Counsel, the
Professional Standards Chair/Vice Chair or the Discipline Conduct
Investigation Committee. The Complainants' Review Committee may be
any Bencher, or in some cases a non-Bencher
lawyer.
Upon review of the complaint, the Complainants' Review Committee
will take one of the following courses of actions:
(i) Confirm the decision of
'no further action'.
(ii) Forward your complaint
to either the Discipline, Professional
Standards or Ethics Committee for
further review and direction.
To request an appeal of a decision of 'no further action' please
apply in writing within 30 days of the date of the decision.
The authority and mandate of the Complainants' Review Committee
can be found in Section 43 of The Legal Professions Act,
1990 and Rule 302 of the Rules of the Law Society of
Saskatchewan.
