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Why we were set up

The Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament conducted an Inquiry into the Regulation of the Legal Profession. On completion, the Scottish Executive (now Scottish Government) agreed that change was required and the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 was introduced. The Act established the SLCC.

Why we were set up

The SLCC was set up under the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 to modernise the legal complaints handling system and to enable complaints against the legal profession to be resolved quickly and effectively.

We are a "one-stop shop" for complaints about the service given by legal practitioners in Scotland, where the practitioner has been unable to resolve the problem. All complaints about the services received from solicitors, advocates or commercial attorneys should come to the SLCC rather than the Law Society of Scotland, Faculty of Advocates or the Association of Commercial Attorneys.

Previously, unresolved complaints could be taken to the Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman (SLSO) where staff investigated how the complaint had been handled by the professional body. The office of the SLSO was abolished to make way for the SLCC.

To read more on the Scottish Executive's consultation on the proposals for reforming the system of complaints handling, please see Reforming Complaints Handling, Building Consumer Confidence: Regulation of the Legal Profession in Scotland. There is also information on the passage of the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill on the website of the Scottish Parliament.

The SLCC was set up to be impartial, accessible and independent.