Complaint regarding Solicitor

janninew

Hi, wasn't sure if this is the best place to post this, but didn't know where else to put it!

I have recently gotten divorced from my husband and i'm a little concerned about about the solicitors he has used.

I use to work in a solicitors 5 years ago and this is the firm he has used! (Probably out of spite!) Some of the staff even came to our wedding! I have a few people that i know still work there, not really friends, just people i know to say hello too! I did mention to my solicitor that i use to work for this company, and in fact i was the secretary of the solicitor who my husband was seeing! He thought it was a little strange that she had taken on the case as he felt there was a conflict of interests. To be honest i didn't think anything else of it, i wasn't really thinking clearly at all and just wanted to get it over with.

So our divorce has come through, no problems. Yesterday i had a friend request from a girl on Facebook who i use to work alongside at this solicitors. She is still in touch with some of the girls there and noticed my profile on Facebook. She sent me a private message through Facebook and she said she was sorry to hear about the divorce and what a s**t my ex had been. She even knew about the agreement with have come to with regards to the house! I know she has no contact with my ex and when i asked her how she knew, she told me one of the girls had told her!!

Now i'm quite a private person and feel this is totally out of order! I know there not gossiping about me, but don't like people to know the private details of my life. Not really sure what i can do about it, but i'm feeling a little cross with the whole situation. I can't help thinking that they should have sent him elsewhere, plus i keep thinking who else knows about my private business?

Sorry for the rant, just not very happy about it!!
Jannine

Katie-Kat-Kins

Ok if you want to make a complaint about a solicitor the Solicitors Regulation Authority are the place to complain to after exhausting any internal proceedures.

However I'm not sure whether you have much of a complaint.

Do the solicitors you used to work for have any knowledge that may have given them any sort of advantage within the divorce or which they could not hav egot from your husband or in the normal course of the divorce? If not then there is probably no real conflict of interest although it is perhaps a bit unprofessional of your former employer, I would have thought that at least assigning the case to an office or a solicitor that wasn't close to you would have been sensible.

On the subject of the girl on facebook, it was extremely unprofessional of her to talk about your case and would get her a disciplinary. However it probably isn't unreasonable that she would know about the case. In any solicitors firm multiple people will know about a case, the solicitor with conduct, their assistant, their supervisor, the receptionist and the typing pool for a start. So whilst they shouldn't be disclosing the details of cases or discussing them with third parties, that someone within the office knows some fairly general information is not indicative of any breach, mentioning what they know to you is certainly unprofessional though and possibly breaches your husband's client confidentiality.

The thing is how much of a fuss you want to make, how specific the information was and what terms you are on with your husband and ex-employer.

naijapower

I would suggest you forget all this and move on.,
You are simply dragging yourself back by making a complaint of this sort

janninew

KatP wrote: »

Ok if you want to make a complaint about a solicitor the Solicitors Regulation Authority are the place to complain to after exhausting any internal proceedures.

However I'm not sure whether you have much of a complaint.

Do the solicitors you used to work for have any knowledge that may have given them any sort of advantage within the divorce or which they could not hav egot from your husband or in the normal course of the divorce? If not then there is probably no real conflict of interest although it is perhaps a bit unprofessional of your former employer, I would have thought that at least assigning the case to an office or a solicitor that wasn't close to you would have been sensible.

On the subject of the girl on facebook, it was extremely unprofessional of her to talk about your case and would get her a disciplinary. However it probably isn't unreasonable that she would know about the case. In any solicitors firm multiple people will know about a case, the solicitor with conduct, their assistant, their supervisor, the receptionist and the typing pool for a start. So whilst they shouldn't be disclosing the details of cases or discussing them with third parties, that someone within the office knows some fairly general information is not indicative of any breach, mentioning what they know to you is certainly unprofessional though and possibly breaches your husband's client confidentiality.

The thing is how much of a fuss you want to make, how specific the information was and what terms you are on with your husband and ex-employer.

Sorry i didn't make it clear! The girl on Facebook who knew about my divorce doesn't work at the Solicitors any more, hasn't done for over 2 years!

Where i work it would be a very serious offence if you were discussing private work matters with your friends. I just feel like the solicitors have not acted professionally and it has annoyed me. I have spent alot of money of fees, and i do expect privay and not to have my private business discussed outside the company.

Katie-Kat-Kins

Ok if she is not a current employee this looks very bad!

But she has found out via your husband's solicitor not yours? Technically a complaint should come from your husband, they have a duty of confidentiality to him rather than to you. However I'd be inclined to make a written complaint anyway, and see what they say, you can take it to the SRA after if they don't deal with it. Solicitors are also bound by the data protection act.

janninew

KatP wrote: »

Ok if she is not a current employee this looks very bad!

But she has found out via your husband's solicitor not yours? Technically a complaint should come from your husband, they have a duty of confidentiality to him rather than to you. However I'd be inclined to make a written complaint anyway, and see what they say, you can take it to the SRA after if they don't deal with it. Solicitors are also bound by the data protection act.

Hi
She definetly found out from my Husbands Solicitors (well secretary, not the actual solicitor!)
I'm not in contact with my husband anymore so i am going to write a complaint in the first instance to the Senior Partner (who i know quite well). I have also printed out the conversation from Facebook which i will send him also.

virgo149

Hi, a bit of info, hope it helps!

If you want to make a complaint about a solicitor, you need to contact the Legal Complaints Service. This can be direct or via the SRA who can put you through.

Your complaint is called a third party complaint because the solicitor you would be complaining about is not your solicitor but acted on behalf of someone else. These type of complaints are treated differently as a solicitor only has a duty of care to their own client. It may be that you can show the solicitor acted against the Solicitors Code of Conduct (you can find this at: http://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/code-of-conduct.page ).

Again, it may also be that the LCS may decide they are unable to proceed with your complaint as they only deal with certain types - if so, they MAY pass the file to the SRA to deal with if they feel you have the type of case that can be investigated (misconduct).

Take a look at the LCS website for more info: http://www.legalcomplaints.org.uk/home.page

Sorry, I know the info's all a bit clinical but it may help you decide if you want to proceed further. Just be warned if you ring the SRA for advice, you won't get it. I work in the Contact Centre at the SRA and even asking if you have a case is classed as legal advice. All we can do it put you through to the LCS to record your details and decide if you have a case. Very frustrating I know - I hear it every day!

scottishchick27

I work in a solicitors office and an acquaintance of mine is going through a divorce from his wife. She is a client of our companyy and I know a lot of the facts about their case. I have had to sit in the pub listening to him waffling on about his wife and kids and telling bare faced lies but I can't say anything to him as it is more than my jobs worth. I can't believe the solicitors secretary would be so stupid as to discuss work matters with other people. I'd put a complaint in and get her fired, serves her right for being so indiscreet.

mishkanorman

absolutely complain, its YOUR life thats being discussed with god knows how many people !

mishka

mini

I'd be upset too, I think you are well within your rights to complain, surely the staff have to agree to a confidentiality agreement too? I wouldn't expect someone who worked at the doctors reception area to contact me 2 years after she left to say sorry to hear I was suffering with something she had heard from a present member of staff.

Good luck pursuing this

paddy's_mum

I too was once an audio-secretary in a firm of solicitors. To mention anything to anyone about even a tiny scrap of information that had passed through one's hands was considered the biggest no-no of the lot. Unless it was vital to know for clarity on perhaps someone's full name or a property address, we weren't even allowed to mention it to another member of the support staff, only to the solicitor directly involved.

To speak out of turn about any aspect of the firm's business was listed in the staff handbook as gross misconduct and would result in immediate dismissal if discovered.

Your 'friend' has behaved with unbelievable foolishness and in your shoes, I'd be furious and mightily upset too. I hope your letter to the firm results in, at the very least, a formal apology and a big bouquet of flowers.