Complaint handling checklist for law firms: from the day it arrives to the eight-week point

A complaint to a law firm in England and Wales starts an eight-week clock on the day it is made, and most of what goes wrong afterwards is a step left out: no acknowledgement, no agreed list of issues, a final response without the Legal Ombudsman's details. This list follows one complaint from the day it arrives to the day the final response goes out. It is written for the partner, practice manager or other person a small SRA-regulated firm has named to handle complaints. Start a fresh list for each complaint and tick each step as it is done.

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Complaint handling checklist for law firms

Tick each step as it is done. The ticks are kept in this browser only, so you can come back to the list; nothing is sent anywhere.

The day the complaint arrives

Write the date the complaint was made on the file, however it arrived Work out the eight-week date and the four-week halfway date, and put both in the diary Pass the complaint the same day to the person the firm has named to handle complaints Read what this client's client care letter said about complaints and how fast the firm would reply Check the complaints procedure on the firm's website is the one you are about to send

Acknowledge within five working days

Acknowledge the complaint in writing within five working days and enclose the procedure Say in the acknowledgement what happens next List the issues as you understand them and ask the client to confirm the list Do not record time on the complaint to the client's bill

Early resolution

Offer a conversation aimed at settling the complaint before any formal investigation Give the person holding that conversation authority to settle, up to a limit the firm sets Finish early resolution within ten working days, or move to a full investigation Send a written outcome, even when the complaint was settled in a phone call

Investigate

Pull the whole file, including the file note of each client update For each agreed issue, note the client's position, what a reasonable service was, the evidence and the finding At the halfway date, check someone has the file, the client has been spoken to and a draft exists If any AI tool helped with the draft, check every assertion against the file before it is signed

The final response

Set the response out in the Ombudsman's order: issues, conclusion, each issue in turn, remedy Say that this is the firm's final response and that the client can go to the Legal Ombudsman State the six-month limit and give the Ombudsman's full contact details, checked against its website Add the one-year limits to the same paragraph Name an approved alternative dispute resolution body and say whether the firm agrees to use it Send the final response by the eight-week date; if you cannot, write to the client before it passes

After the response

Diary the date six months after the final response Keep the record of every step the firm took under its own procedure Record the cause, and if it was silence, put the firm's live files on a fixed update day

Copy what is left Print the list Clear the ticks

A working list, not a certificate and not advice: the rule behind each step, with its source, is set out below. Regulated work: a supervising solicitor reviews every draft before it reaches a client, and the firm stays accountable for it (SRA Code 3.5; SRA warning notice on AI, 17 August 2026). The AI assistant drafts, checks and files; it does not advise.

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The day the complaint arrives

Write the date the complaint was made on the file, however it arrived. The eight weeks run from the day the complaint is made, not the day someone opened it. A complaint emailed on 1 October 2026 must be resolved by 26 November 2026, which is 56 days later. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, 1 April 2023, rule 4.2. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

Work out the eight-week date and the four-week halfway date, and put both in the diary. Eight weeks is the outer limit, after which the client can go to the Legal Ombudsman without waiting for the firm. The halfway date, 29 October 2026 for a complaint received on 1 October, is our suggestion and not a rule. Source: Legal Ombudsman, How to complain; our complaint deadline calculator. The working is in Complaint deadline calculator for law firms.

Pass the complaint the same day to the person the firm has named to handle complaints. The SRA Code requires the firm to have a complaints procedure and to deal with complaints promptly and fairly. Days a complaint spends in a fee earner's inbox still count towards the eight weeks. Source: SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.2 and 8.5. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

Read what this client's client care letter said about complaints and how fast the firm would reply. At engagement the client was told in writing how to complain, to whom, and when they can go to the Legal Ombudsman. The firm's own procedure may promise something faster than eight weeks. Source: SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.3. The working is in Client care letter and file-opening checklist.

Check the complaints procedure on the firm's website is the one you are about to send. Every regulated firm's website must carry details of its complaints procedure, including how and when a complaint can be made to the Legal Ombudsman and to the SRA, whether or not the firm offers a service with published prices. Source: SRA Transparency Rules 2.1, edition in force from 11 April 2025. The working is in SRA transparency rules.

Acknowledge within five working days

Acknowledge the complaint in writing within five working days and enclose the procedure. The Legal Ombudsman's model procedure, published on 29 July 2026, acknowledges every complaint within five working days with a copy of the procedure. For a complaint made on Thursday 1 October 2026 that is Thursday 8 October. The model is voluntary; the eight weeks are not. Source: Legal Ombudsman Model Complaints Resolution Procedure, 29 July 2026. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

Say in the acknowledgement what happens next. An acknowledgement saying what happens next is one of five features a firm must keep if it wants to say it uses the Ombudsman's model, with an early resolution stage, a full investigation stage, a written outcome and a link to the Ombudsman's resources. Source: Legal Ombudsman Model Complaints Resolution Procedure, 29 July 2026. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

List the issues as you understand them and ask the client to confirm the list. The Ombudsman's template response opens with the issues the firm agreed to investigate. It reported on 1 October 2026 that 54% of people who had made or considered a formal complaint about a regulated service had used AI, so long complaints are common: agree the list, then answer it. Source: Legal Ombudsman template letters, 29 July 2026, and news release, 1 October 2026. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

Do not record time on the complaint to the client's bill. The SRA Code requires complaints to be dealt with promptly, fairly and free of charge, so the client pays nothing for the firm's handling of the complaint. Source: SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.5. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

Early resolution

Offer a conversation aimed at settling the complaint before any formal investigation. In the Ombudsman's three-month pilot 57% of complaints were resolved at early resolution, in seven days on average against 21 days for those that needed a full investigation. Source: Legal Ombudsman Model Complaints Resolution Procedure and guidance, 29 July 2026. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

Give the person holding that conversation authority to settle, up to a limit the firm sets. The Ombudsman's guidance for small providers says the early stage need not be run by a partner. It needs someone with the authority to settle, up to a limit the firm sets, who keeps a record. Source: Legal Ombudsman guidance for small providers, 29 July 2026. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

Finish early resolution within ten working days, or move to a full investigation. The model allows no more than ten working days for early resolution. For a complaint made on 1 October 2026 and acknowledged on 8 October that is Thursday 22 October, which leaves five weeks for the investigation. Source: Legal Ombudsman Model Complaints Resolution Procedure, 29 July 2026. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

Send a written outcome, even when the complaint was settled in a phone call. A written outcome, whichever stage produced it, is one of the five features of the Ombudsman's model procedure. It is also the firm's record of what was agreed and when. Source: Legal Ombudsman Model Complaints Resolution Procedure, 29 July 2026. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

Investigate

Pull the whole file, including the file note of each client update. The Ombudsman reads the file, not the inbox. The file notes of each update, with the stage and the date of the next one, are the firm's evidence that the client was kept informed. Source: Legal Ombudsman advice reported by the Law Gazette, 2 April 2026; our update template. The working is in Conveyancing client update email template.

For each agreed issue, note the client's position, what a reasonable service was, the evidence and the finding. This is the order of the Ombudsman's template response: each issue in turn, with the client's position, what a reasonable service would have been, the evidence looked at and the finding. Source: Legal Ombudsman template letters, 29 July 2026. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

At the halfway date, check someone has the file, the client has been spoken to and a draft exists. This check is our suggestion and not a rule. Complaints that reach week seven without a draft are the ones that go to the Legal Ombudsman by default, because at eight weeks the client no longer has to wait. Source: our complaint deadline calculator. The working is in Complaint deadline calculator for law firms.

If any AI tool helped with the draft, check every assertion against the file before it is signed. The SRA's warning notice of 17 August 2026 says the firm remains accountable for work done through AI and that every citation and assertion must be verified. Client information may only go into a system with contractual, technical and organisational safeguards. Source: SRA warning notice on misuse of artificial intelligence, 17 August 2026. The working is in The SRA's warning notice on AI.

The final response

Set the response out in the Ombudsman's order: issues, conclusion, each issue in turn, remedy. The model's template letter opens with when the complaint was made and the issues agreed, then gives the conclusion, takes each issue in turn and states any remedy. The Ombudsman paragraph comes last. Source: Legal Ombudsman template letters, 29 July 2026. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

Say that this is the firm's final response and that the client can go to the Legal Ombudsman. The Ombudsman's signposting guidance lists four things a final response must do. These are the first two; the other two are the six-month time limit and the Ombudsman's full contact details. Source: Legal Ombudsman, Signposting consumers to the Legal Ombudsman. The working is in Complaint deadline calculator for law firms.

State the six-month limit and give the Ombudsman's full contact details, checked against its website. A final response dated 20 November 2026 gives the client until 20 May 2027 to go to the Ombudsman, but only if it states the six-month limit and gives the full contact details. If either is missing, that clock does not start. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, rule 4.4; Signposting consumers to the Legal Ombudsman. The working is in Complaint deadline calculator for law firms.

Add the one-year limits to the same paragraph. Since 1 April 2023 the client must also go to the Ombudsman within one year of the act or omission complained about, or within one year of when they should have realised there was cause to complain. Both tests apply as well as the six months. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules in force from 1 April 2023. The working is in Complaint deadline calculator for law firms.

Name an approved alternative dispute resolution body and say whether the firm agrees to use it. When the procedure is exhausted the Code requires the firm to tell the client it cannot settle the complaint, give the name and website of an approved alternative dispute resolution body and say whether it agrees to use it. The Ombudsman paragraph does not cover this. Source: SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.4. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

Send the final response by the eight-week date; if you cannot, write to the client before it passes. If a complaint is not resolved within eight weeks the Code requires the firm to tell the client in writing of the right to go to the Ombudsman, the time frame and full contact details. Proposals consulted on in 2026 would add £400 to the case fee where no final response came in time. Source: SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors 8.4; Office for Legal Complaints consultation, June 2026. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

After the response

Diary the date six months after the final response. That is the last day the client can refer the complaint: 20 May 2027 for a response dated 20 November 2026. The Ombudsman can accept a late complaint where it considers that fair and reasonable, so a passed date is a strong position, not a guarantee. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules in force from 1 April 2023. The working is in Complaint deadline calculator for law firms.

Keep the record of every step the firm took under its own procedure. The Ombudsman's £400 case fee is waived only where the complaint was withdrawn or closed in the firm's favour and the ombudsman is satisfied the firm took all reasonable steps under its own procedure. Source: Legal Ombudsman Scheme Rules, rule 6.2. The working is in Solicitors' complaints procedure.

Record the cause, and if it was silence, put the firm's live files on a fixed update day. The Legal Ombudsman took 647 residential conveyancing complaints in one quarter of 2025/26, 36% of all complaints, and its advice to firms is short, predictable updates even when nothing has changed. Source: Legal Ombudsman figures and advice via the Law Gazette, 2 April 2026. The working is in Conveyancers spend 43% of the day chasing.

How to use the list

Keep the finished list on the complaint file, dated, with the documents behind each tick. If a step did not apply, for example early resolution on a complaint the client asked to have investigated in full, tick it and note why. If the client goes to the Legal Ombudsman, the list and its documents are the record that the firm followed its own procedure. Clear the ticks before the next complaint; they are stored in this browser only.

A ticked list is a record that the steps were done, not proof that each was done properly. The list covers the points our guides and the official pages named above set out; it is not every duty a firm has. A supervising solicitor reviews and signs anything a tool drafts, and this page is general information, not legal advice.

Overlyft sets up AI assistants for solicitors: they prepare drafts for a person to approve. They do not tick off any of these steps for you, and you can do every one without them.