Complaining about a solicitor: the Legal Ombudsman and the SRA

When a solicitor gets something wrong, there are three different places a complaint can go, and they do different jobs. This guide is for individuals and small-business owners who are unhappy with their own solicitor and want to understand how the firm's complaints process, the Legal Ombudsman, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and a court claim for negligence fit together. For whether a claim might exist at all, see the series overview.

Three routes, three different jobs

Route one: the firm, then the Legal Ombudsman

Complain to the firm first

Every firm must tell clients in writing how to complain, and that they can go to the Legal Ombudsman at the end of the firm's process. Rule 4.1 of the Legal Ombudsman's Scheme Rules says that, ordinarily, you must use the firm's own complaints procedure first. Under rule 4.2, you can go to the Ombudsman if the complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction within eight weeks of making it to the firm, or sooner where there are exceptional reasons or the relationship has irretrievably broken down.

Who can complain

Rule 2.1 lists who can use the Ombudsman. It includes:

• an individual;
• a business that was a micro-enterprise (as the Scheme Rules define it) when it complained to the firm;
• a charity, or a club or association, with annual income net of tax under £1 million;
• a trustee of a trust with an asset value under £1 million;
• a personal representative or beneficiary of the estate of someone who died without referring the complaint.

A business larger than a micro-enterprise is not on the list.

Time limits

The Scheme Rules in force are those that took effect on 1 April 2023. Under them:

• you must ordinarily refer the complaint no later than one year from the act or omission, or one year from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint (rule 4.5);
• if the firm's final written response prominently explained that the Ombudsman was available, gave its contact details and warned of the deadline, you must ordinarily refer within six months of that response (rule 4.4);
• the Ombudsman may extend any of these limits where it considers that fair and reasonable (rule 4.7).

Before April 2023 the limits were six years from the act or omission, or three years from when you became aware of it, so older guidance may be out of date. The Office for Legal Complaints consulted in June 2026 on further changes, including a proposed 12-year long-stop, which it expects to implement from 1 April 2027 subject to approval by the Legal Services Board and, where applicable, the Lord Chancellor. At the time of writing (October 2026) those proposals are not in force; the Ombudsman's website has the current position.

What the Ombudsman decides and can award

The Ombudsman decides what is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances (rule 5.36). It takes into account, but is not bound by, what a court might decide, the regulator's conduct rules and good practice at the time (rule 5.37). That is a different question from whether the solicitor was negligent in law.

It can direct the firm to apologise, pay compensation for loss, pay compensation for distress and inconvenience, put right an error at its own cost, take other action in your interest, pay your costs of complaining, or limit its fees (rule 5.38). At the time of writing (October 2026), there is a £50,000 limit on the total of compensation for loss, compensation for distress, the cost of putting things right and the cost of any other action the firm is directed to take in your interest (rule 5.43; the same figure is in section 138 of the Legal Services Act 2007). The limit does not apply to an apology, interest, a fee limit or your costs of pursuing the complaint (rule 5.45).

If you accept a final decision, it is binding on both sides and final (rule 5.49), and neither side may start or continue legal proceedings about the subject matter of the complaint (rule 5.50). If you reject it, it has no effect on anyone's legal rights (rule 5.54).

Route two: the SRA

The SRA regulates solicitors and deals with conduct. Its website says it investigates "serious or repeated cases of poor behaviour or conduct", such as dishonesty, fraud or misuse of client money. It is equally clear about what it does not do: "We can't make a solicitor say sorry to you or pay compensation to you", and it does not investigate or offer compensation for issues about the service you received. It also says it cannot advise on whether your solicitor has been negligent.

A report to the SRA is separate from a service complaint or a court claim, and does not lead to compensation for you.

Route three: a negligence claim in court

A negligence claim asks whether the solicitor failed to take the care a reasonably competent solicitor would have taken, and whether that caused you financial loss. It is not subject to the Ombudsman's £50,000 limit, but it carries the cost and risk of litigation. Before proceedings are issued, the Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol applies; it lists "ombudsmen schemes" among the forms of alternative dispute resolution the parties may use.

How the routes interact

• A complaint does not stop the limitation clock. The protocol states that it "does not alter the statutory time limits for commencing court proceedings", and a complaint to the firm, the Ombudsman or the SRA does not pause them either. See solicitor negligence time limits.
• The Ombudsman may decline. It may dismiss a complaint where a court has already dealt with or is dealing with the same issue, or where it would be more suitable for a court to deal with it (rule 5.7).
• Accepting a decision closes the court route for the same subject matter, as above. Rejecting it does not.
• The SRA route runs separately. It concerns the solicitor's conduct, not your loss.

Getting your file

Ownership of a solicitor's file is decided document by document. The Law Society publishes a practice note, 'Who owns the file?'. In Hanley v JC & A Solicitors [2018] EWHC 2592 (QB), the High Court noted the principle that documents a solicitor creates as the client's agent, such as letters to the other side, belong to the client, while documents prepared for the firm's own benefit or protection belong to the firm. The court held it had no jurisdiction to order a solicitor to supply copies of documents that are the solicitor's own property.

If you owe the firm fees, it may be entitled to hold on to papers that are otherwise yours until the bill is paid, which is known as a lien. Section 68 of the Solicitors Act 1974 confirms the High Court's jurisdiction to order a solicitor to deliver up documents. Getting your file covers both points, and subject access requests, in more detail.

What a solicitor will want from you

• The engagement letter and terms of business.
• Your complaint to the firm, the date you made it, and the firm's final response.
• Any Legal Ombudsman correspondence, and whether a decision has been issued, accepted or rejected.
• Any report you made to the SRA and its reply.
• The file, or your written request for it and the firm's answer, including anything said about unpaid fees.
• The date the mistake happened and the date you first realised it.

Run the free case check

This guide is general information about the law of England and Wales. It is not legal advice. A complaint to the firm, the Legal Ombudsman or the SRA does not stop the limitation clock for a court claim, so the dates in your own case matter.