Clients of solicitors who are not satisfied with how the Law Society handles their complaints will soon be able to appeal to an ombudsman. The society has appointed Mr Eamon Condon, a retired banker, as its first adjudicator and will pay his salary. Mr Condon was approached directly about the position, which was not publicly advertised, according to the society's director-general, Mr Ken Murphy.
He will start dealing with complaints from members of the public on October 1st.
The Law Society is a self-governing and self-regulating body. Its largely internal complaints handling procedure has been criticised as lacking in transparency.
Complaints against solicitors are handled by the society's Registrar's Committee which has 10 lawyer and four non-lawyer members.
This committee can refer complaints to the High Court's disciplinary tribunal which can fine, suspend or strike off errant solicitors.
The majority of cases are normally dealt with exclusively by the Registrar's Committee, however, giving rise to charges that the public cannot have complete confidence in the system.
Until now, complainants who were not satisfied with a decision of the Registrar's Committee would have had to appeal directly to the disciplinary tribunal.
Mr Condon will investigate complaints from members of the public regarding how the Registrar's Committee has handled allegations about a solicitor.
He will be able to direct the Registrar's Committee to re-examine complaints or refer cases to the disciplinary tribunal. He will also have the power to make non-binding general recommendations to the society regarding its handling of complaints.
The Law Society's president, Mr Frank Daly, said the society was "wholly committed to a transparent and effective complaints procedure. We are determined that where there is a bona-fide and justifiable complaint against a solicitor, the complainant will have that complaint speedily resolved."
Its director-general, Mr Murphy, said Mr Condon would function "quite separately" from the society. "We have no doubt that he will be very independent in the way in which he reviews things," he said.
The Registrar's Committee handled 1,249 complaints from members of the public last year. Six solicitors' practices were wound up by the society and seven solicitors had their practising certificates suspended or refused. Eleven complaints were referred to the disciplinary tribunal.
The Progressive Democrats proposed at its conference last November that an independent legal services ombudsman with statutory powers be set up.
A Dublin South party member, Mr Victor Boyhan, whose conference motion on the issue was passed, said the system of disciplining solicitors "no longer commands complete public confidence".
Mr Condon, a former senior bank manager with the Bank of Ireland, took up the part-time position within the past fortnight and will hold it for two years. His salary will be paid by the society from its members' contributions. He is currently reviewing the society's complaints-handling system and will not deal with individual complaints by members of the public until October 1st.
News media advertisements will be placed later this month giving information to members of the public about how to contact Mr Condon.