Complaints Procedure

Our Approach

We are committed to providing a high-quality legal service to all our clients. If you become unhappy or concerned about the service we are providing, or if something goes wrong, then you should let us know. This will help us to improve our standards.

We will regard a complaint as being any expression of dissatisfaction in relation to the legal services, client care or the complaints management process provided by the firm, where the client feels they have experienced, or could experience, financial loss, distress, inconvenience, or another kind of disadvantage, and they expect a response or resolution from us.

Information to be given to clients at the outset of their case

As part of our Client Care Letter, which is issued to all clients at the start of their matter, we will inform them of the following:

• Their right to raise a complaint regarding the services provided, including concerns about the firm’s
  fees;
• The process for making a complaint;
• Who to contact if the issue cannot be resolved directly with the lawyer handling their case; and
• The options available to them if they remain dissatisfied following our internal review of the
  complaint.

How do I make a complaint?

Stage 1

In the first instance, we recommend that you contact the lawyer handling your case to discuss your concerns.

Stage 2

If you feel your lawyer has not adequately addressed your concerns, please contact our Complaints Team by email, post or phone, outlining your concerns and including supporting evidence.

• complaints@richardnelsonllp.co.uk
• Richard Nelson LLP, Priory Court, 1 Derby Road, Nottingham, NG9 2TA,
• 0115 986 3636

Stage 3

Within 2 working days of receiving your complaint, our Team will acknowledge it, request any further information (if required) and provide you with a copy of our Complaints Procedure.

Stage 4

Our team will investigate your complaint by reviewing your file and consulting with the lawyer responsible for your matter. We will aim to identify the cause of your concern/s and offer any appropriate redress. We will assess whether any changes to our policies, procedures or training are required. If the complaint concerns any of the Complaints Team or our Managing Partner, then another Partner will be appointed to handle their role in the process.

Stage 5

Within 28 calendar days of receiving your complaint, we will provide our written response, including any proposals to resolve the matter. If your case and/or complaint is particularly complex, we may require additional time to respond. In such circumstances, we will inform you and seek to agree on a realistic and fair timeframe for investigating and responding to your complaint.

Stage 6

Within 7 calendar days of receiving our written response, if you remain dissatisfied with our decision or any proposed remedy, you may appeal by contacting the firm & Managing Partner, Marie Dancer, mariedancer@richardnelsonllp.co.uk, who will conduct a further review. If you require additional time to respond, you should make this request within the same 7-day period, stating your reasons. We will then seek to agree on a suitable extension with you.

Stage 7

Within 14 calendar days of receiving your request for a review, we will provide the firm’s final written response to your complaint, including our reasoning. We maintain a central record of all complaints to enable our annual review of the issues raised and their outcomes, ensuring we can verify that our Complaints Procedure is in effective operation across the firm. A copy of this Complaints Procedure is published on our website.

Stage 8

If you remain dissatisfied following the firm’s final response, you may refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman for independent review. Generally, you must bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of receiving our final written complaint response. However, if this timeframe has passed, you may still contact the Legal Ombudsman, as they may agree to consider your complaint. Please note that the Legal Ombudsman expects complaints to be made to them within 1 year of the date of the act or omission giving rise to your concern, or within 1 year of when you first became aware of the issue.

The Legal Ombudsman can be contacted at PO Box 6167, Slough SL1 0EH or www.legalombudsman.org.uk or 0300 555 0333 or enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk.

Useful Contacts

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help you if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things such as dishonesty, or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic. You can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. More information can be found at their website at https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/report-solicitor.

Alternative complaint bodies exist, such as ProMediate, which are competent to deal with complaints about legal services, should both you and our firm wish to use such a scheme. ProMediate can be contacted via their website at http://www.promediate.co.uk/. ProMediate should be contacted within 12 months of receiving a final letter from this firm regarding a complaint. We will consider using such a scheme on a case-by-case basis.

This complaints procedure policy document was last updated on 08/08/25.