Script 436 gives information only, not legal advice. If you have a legal problem or need legal advice, you should speak to a lawyer. For the name of a lawyer to consult, call Lawyer Referral at 604.687.3221 in the lower mainland or 1.800.663.1919 elsewhere in British Columbia.

This script explains what to do if you have a problem with your lawyer. You may also want to check the following scripts:

• 431, called “The Law Society, Bar Associations, and the Law Foundation”
• 435, called “Choosing a lawyer”
• 438, called “Lawyers’ fees”

First, talk or write to your lawyer about the problem
Problems with lawyers usually involve miscommunication, fees, delays, or misconduct. If you have trouble with your lawyer, talk to the lawyer right away. You may be able to solve the problem before it gets too bad or delays your case. If you have trouble talking about the problem, put it in writing – by email or letter. If you don’t understand the lawyer’s response, ask for a written explanation.

Can the Law Society help solve the problem?
If talking to your lawyer doesn’t work, you can complain to the Law Society. The Law Society is the organization that licenses all BC lawyers. It protects the public by setting professional standards of conduct and competence for lawyers; it monitors, evaluates, and disciplines them. Write a complaint letter and send it to the Law Society’s Professional Conduct Department in one of the following ways:

• Mail: 845 Cambie Street, Vancouver BC V6B 4Z9
• Fax: 604.605.5399

If you find it hard to write a complaint letter, ask a friend or advisor to help you write it. In your letter, describe your connection with the lawyer. Give a history of the problem and include any other written material that explains it.

The Professional Conduct Department has commercial crime investigators, forensic auditors, and lawyers. The Department reviews all complaints against lawyers, as follows:

First, the Department decides if they have the authority to investigate your complaint. If not, they close the file. If they have the authority to investigate, they look into your complaint in detail and contact the lawyer for a response – so the lawyer will learn of your complaint. Then, they do one of the following things:

• Take no further action if the complaint cannot be proved or does not show conduct serious enough to justify further action.
  
• Send the complaint to the Practice Standards Committee if competency is the issue. That committee decides if the lawyer needs to upgrade skills, change their practice, or obtain other guidance.
  
• Send the complaint to the Discipline Committee if there are ethical concerns or breaches of Law Society rules. That committee decides if there should be a review of, or a formal disciplinary hearing into, the lawyer's conduct.

Law Society discipline hearings are like court hearings – Law Society staff present the case against the lawyer and the lawyer gives his or her side of the case. A hearing can lead to:

• A reprimand (a warning) of the lawyer.
• A fine up to $20,000.
• Conditions controlling how the lawyer works.
• Suspension of the lawyer from working as a lawyer or from working in one or more areas of law (with or without conditions) for a certain time.
• Disbarment of the lawyer (meaning the lawyer cannot work as a lawyer).

For more information on the complaint process, phone the Law Society at 604.669.2533 in the lower mainland and 1.800.903.5300 elsewhere in BC. Or see its website at www.lawsociety.bc.ca.

Are Law Society decisions final?
Not always – in some cases you can appeal the Department’s decision if it decides not to act on your complaint. The appeal goes to the Complainants’ Review Committee – the Department can give you more information on this.

The Law Society can apply to its board of directors for a review of a hearing verdict. Both the Law Society and the lawyer can apply to the board for a review of a penalty. The lawyer also has the right to appeal either a verdict or penalty to the BC Court of Appeal.

Is your lawyer’s fee the problem?
Try either of the following two solutions for a fee problem that you and your lawyer can’t solve:

1. Ask a Registrar of the BC Supreme Court to review the bill. You have one year from the date of the bill to apply to the registrar – if you have not already paid it. But if you have already paid the bill, you have to apply within three months of paying it. The Registrar holds a hearing where you and your lawyer each give your side of the case. Then the Registrar decides what the fee will be. For details, contact the nearest Supreme Court Registry. The phone number should be in the blue pages of the phone book, under “Government of British Columbia – Court Services – Court Registries,” or just “Registry.”

2. Use the Law Society’s fee mediation service. To use this service, you have to pay $25. So does the lawyer. If you and your lawyer agree, the Law Society appoints a mediator to help you reach a settlement. Since the process is voluntary, it works only if you and your lawyer can agree on a settlement. For details, phone the Law Society at 604.669.2533 in the lower mainland and 1.800.903.5300 elsewhere in BC. Or see its website at www.lawsociety.bc.ca.

For more information on lawyers’ fees, refer to script 438, called “Lawyers’ Fees.”

What other choices do you have?
The Law Society cannot help you with some things. For example, it can’t solve a dispute over money or property. Nor can it order a lawyer to pay money or deliver property to you or anyone else or reduce a lawyer’s bill. It can’t find that a lawyer was negligent, give legal advice, or control what a lawyer does in your case. In those types of cases, you may want to get legal advice from another lawyer about your options.

[updated July 2007]

Dial-A-Law© is a library of legal information that is available:

• by phone, as recorded scripts, and
• in writing, on the CBA BC Branch website.

To access Dial-A-Law, call 604.687.4680 in the lower mainland or 1.800.565.5297 elsewhere in BC. Dial-A-Law is available online at www.cba.org/bc in Public & Media.

The Dial-A-Law library is prepared by lawyers and gives practical information on many areas of law in British Columbia. Dial-A-Law is funded by the Law Foundation of British Columbia and sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia.

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