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Provision of Services Regulations 2009

The Provision of Services Regulations 2009 (based on a new EU Directive) obliges solicitors to provide clients with information on their services, which are over and above the requirements set out in the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct, which are detailed in The Law Society’s Practice Note.

To address these Regulations, which came into effect on 28^th December 2009, the following changes should be made, to the extent that they are not included at present.

1                     VAT number – this should be included on the firm’s headed notepaper, fax headers/footers, e-mail footers, and the firm’s website (if any).

2                     Professional rules - the firm’s client care letter or terms of business should include the following sentence: “The professional rules relating to solicitors’ firms, including the Code of Conduct, can be accessed on the website of the Solicitors Regulation Authority at www.sra.org.uk/code-of-conduct.page .”

3                     Professional indemnity insurance - the firm’s client care letter or terms of business should include the following sentence: “Our firm holds professional indemnity insurance and, should you so request, we would provide you with the name and contact details of our professional indemnity insurer, and details of the territorial coverage of the insurance.”

4                     Interest on bills – if you wish to retain the right to charge interest on overdue bills, the firm’s client care letter or terms of business should include the following paragraph: “Unless a bill is paid by deduction from funds that we hold, the bill would be payable within 28 days of delivery.   Our terms as to payment of our accounts, which include the right to charge interest at the rate of 2% above the ……. Bank base rate on overdue accounts, are shown in full on the reverse of all of our accounts.”

5                     Complaints:

·         The firm’s client care letter or terms of business should include the following sentence: “Your right to complain [or raise a concern] includes the right to complain about a bill.” 

·         The notes on the reverse of your accounts/bills should include the following sentence: “There may also be the right to object to the bill by making a complaint to the Legal Complaints Service and/or by applying to the court for assessment of the bill under Part III of the Solicitors Act 1974.  If you are considering taking this course of action, contact us so that we can inform you whether either of these rights apply, and if so which.”  [NB: The Legal Complaints Service will be replaced by the Office of Legal Complaints, probably in October 2010.  Also, references to remuneration certificates should be removed.].

·         The firm should already have a Complaints Procedure document for sending to clients who complain, and this document should include the postal and web address of the Legal Complaints Service.  If you wish, this might now be amended to prefix this information with mention of the possibility of “non-judicial means of dispute settlement”, for example: “If you remain concerned, we might agree to refer the matter to the current president of the ……… Local Law Society, to resolve the matter by mediation or other form of alternative dispute resolution.” 

·         However, the Complaints Procedure document should go on to read: “If you still remain dissatisfied with how your complaint has been handled and the decision on it, we will write to you confirming our final position on your complaint and explaining why we consider our handling of it, and our decision  (and the result of any review), were reasonable.  You would then be at liberty to contact the Legal Complaints Service, whose address is Victoria Court, 8 Dormer Place, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, CV32 5AE.  Their web site is at www.legalcomplaints.org.uk .  That organisation is the solicitors’ regulatory body to whom you may refer your complaint, once we have concluded out professional obligation to try to resolve it.  The time limit for you to make a complaint to the Legal Complaints Service is six months from the conclusion of our internal complaints procedure.”

Full the full contents of The Law Society’s Practice Note, refer to the following web address

 http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/productsandservices/practicenotes/servicesregs/4346.article

For further assistance on compliance matters, or if you wish to discuss Bennett Brooks carrying out a compliance review of your firm, please contact Peter Lane of our Legal Services Department on

0845 330 3200 or peter.lane@bennettbrooks.co.uk