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After the matter has been investigated to the
extent determined by the investigating solicitor a decision will
be made and the complainant and lawyer will be notified about it.
On a few occasions where it is not deemed appropriate to forward
a complaint to a lawyer only the complainant will be notified. In
most cases this occurs where there is simply nothing on the face
of the complaint which, if proven, would amount to misconduct.
Not all decisions need to be made at a meeting of the Full Board. Some decisions have been delegated, by the Board, to the Director and Senior Solicitor of the Board. Any decision made by delegated authority (rather than the Full Board) is notified to the Board at the next Board meeting. However importantly, a decision that there is evidence of unprofessional or unsatisfactory conduct on the part of a lawyer can only be made by the Full board. In such cases, after investigation of the complaint a report is prepared for the full Board, which currently meets every 5 weeks. At the Board meeting the Board considers the material before it and determines whether there is evidence of unprofessional or unsatisfactory conduct on the part of the lawyer. If it determines that there is misconduct it also considers the appropriate disposition of the matter. What factors does the Board take into account in deciding whether there is unprofessional conduct or unsatisfactory conduct on the part of the lawyer? In March 2003 the Board published Guidelines (52Kb PDF) to inform both lawyers and members of the public of the factors which will and will not be taken into account in reaching a decision as to whether there is unprofessional conduct or unsatisfactory conduct. Will the Board tell me the reasons for its decision? In most cases the Board will advise the reasons for its decision which will be published to both the complainant and the lawyer the subject of the complaint. What can I do if I am not happy with a decision of the Board? If you are not satisfied with the proceedings or decision of the Board you can ask the Lay Observer to look at what the Board has done. The Lay Observer can make a recommendation to the Board. The Lay Observer is not a lawyer. She/he observes the work of the Board and ultimately reports to the Attorney General. The contact details for the Lay Observer are as follows:
Ombudsman You may complain to the State Ombudsman. The State Ombudsman's address is as follows:
Proceedings Although the usual course of action is that the Board would ordinarily be the body who brings a charge before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, the Legal Practitioners Act 1981 provides that persons and bodies other than the Board may bring a charge before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal. This means that a person "claiming to be aggrieved by reason of the alleged unprofessional or unsatisfactory conduct" may start proceedings in the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, even if the Board does not find that there has been unprofessional or unsatisfactory conduct. The Board is not advocating that you take such action but informs you of Section 82(2) of the Legal Practitioners Act, 1981. However you should consider getting legal advice before taking such a course of action as potentially you could be the subject of a costs order if an action were not successful or if for some other reason the Tribunal was of the view that costs should be awarded against you. |
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