Complaints
Caesar Law Ltd is committed to delivering a high-quality legal service. As an unregulated legal services entity (i.e. not authorised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority), our work is carried out by solicitors who are individually authorised and regulated by the SRA. We want all our clients to be satisfied with our service. If something goes wrong or if you are unhappy with the service you have received, please inform us as soon as possible so that we can address the issue. We take client feedback and complaints seriously and aim to resolve problems promptly and fairly.
This page outlines our procedure for handling complaints, including how to make a complaint, how it will be dealt with, and what to do if you remain unsatisfied.
How to Make a Complaint
1. Informal Resolution: In many cases, an issue can be resolved quickly by speaking with the solicitor or representative handling your matter. If you feel comfortable doing so, please initially contact the person you have been dealing with at Caesar Law Ltd and explain your concerns. They will do their best to clarify any misunderstanding or put things right. Often, open communication at this stage can resolve the majority of concerns.
2. Escalation to Management: If you do not feel able to speak with the person handling your case, or if you have spoken to them and remain dissatisfied, you should escalate your complaint to our director or designated client care officer. Please set out your complaint clearly, including what you feel went wrong and what you would like to be done to resolve the matter. You can send your complaint in writing by email to geoffrey@caesarlaw.co.uk or by letter to: The Director, Caesar Law Ltd, Silverstream House 4th Floor, 45 Fitzroy Street, Fitzrovia, London, England, W1T 6EB. Mark your correspondence as “Formal Complaint.” If you prefer to discuss by phone, you may call us, but we will likely ask that you follow up in writing so that we have a clear record of the issues.
3. Acknowledgement: Once we receive your formal complaint, we will acknowledge it in writing. We aim to acknowledge receipt of your complaint within three business days. In this acknowledgement, we may confirm our understanding of your concerns and request further details or clarification. We will also provide the name of the person who will be handling your complaint (this may be our director or another senior lawyer not directly involved in the matter, where possible).
4. Investigation: We will then investigate your complaint. This will involve a proportionate review of the relevant files and communications, and discussions with the staff member(s) involved in your matter. The person investigating (our client care representative) will impartially consider the issues you raise. We may contact you during this process to discuss the matter or gather additional information. Please allow us access to any details that can help resolve your concerns.
5. Response: We will provide a substantive response after our investigation. We aim to provide a full written response within 21 days of acknowledging your complaint. If the matter is complex or requires more time to investigate, we will inform you and update you on the progress. In any event, we will send you a final response no later than 8 weeks from the date of your complaint. Our response will outline our findings, address each of the points you raised, and, if we find that something went wrong, propose a remedy or corrective action. Remedies might include an apology, an explanation of what went wrong, taking steps to fix the problem, and, where appropriate, a reduction or refund of fees, or other suitable redress.
6. Follow-Up: We hope our response will resolve your concerns. However, if you remain unhappy after receiving our final response (or if 8 weeks have passed since you made your complaint and you have not received a final response), you have the option to pursue your complaint with the Legal Ombudsman. Additionally, if your complaint is specifically about a solicitor’s professional conduct (e.g., dishonesty, breach of SRA principles) rather than about service quality, you may also have the right to report the matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The next sections provide information on these options.
Legal Ombudsman
The Legal Ombudsman is an independent complaints body established to resolve disputes between consumers and legal service providers. Because our services are carried out by SRA-regulated solicitors, the Legal Ombudsman has jurisdiction to consider complaints about our service if we cannot resolve the matter internally to your satisfaction. The Legal Ombudsman will look at your complaint impartially, and it will not affect the way your case is handled by us if you choose to involve them.
Time Limits: You must normally refer your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within 6 months of our final written response to you on the complaint. Additionally, there are overall time limits: the Legal Ombudsman will usually only consider complaints if no more than one year has elapsed from the date of the act or omission being complained about or from the date when you reasonably should have realised there was cause for complaint. (These time limits apply to complaints referred to the Legal Ombudsman from 1 April 2023 onwards.) The Ombudsman may, at its discretion, extend these time limits in special circumstances.
Contact details for the Legal Ombudsman:
• Address: Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton, WV1 9WJ, United Kingdom
• Telephone: 0300 555 0333 (between 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday)
• Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
• Website: www.legalombudsman.org.uk
Please note that the Legal Ombudsman typically handles complaints from individual consumers, very small businesses, charities, clubs and trusts. There may be eligibility criteria about who can complain. If you are unsure, the Legal Ombudsman can advise whether they can deal with your complaint.
Before the Legal Ombudsman will look at a complaint, they generally expect you to have first given us a chance to resolve it through our internal procedure as outlined above. We hope we can resolve any issues before you need to take this step.
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
The SRA is the regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales. Since Caesar Law Ltd is not an SRA-regulated firm (we are an unregulated business), the SRA generally will not handle complaints about poor service – those should be directed to the Legal Ombudsman as described. However, the SRA can consider complaints relating to professional misconduct or breaches of SRA principles by the individual solicitors involved. If your complaint involves serious misconduct – for example, dishonesty, theft, breaches of client confidentiality, or any ethics/professional conduct issue – you may report such matters directly to the SRA. The SRA deals with issues such as a solicitor acting unethically, losing your money or papers, or treating you unfairly because of your characteristics .
Contact details for the SRA (to report a solicitor or employee conduct issue): You can visit the SRA’s website at www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems, which provides information on how to raise concerns. The SRA’s report line is 0370 606 2555 (inside the UK) or +44 (0)121 329 6800 (from overseas), available Monday to Friday. You can also email reports to report@sra.org.uk or use the SRA’s online reporting forms. On the SRA website, you will find guidance on the kind of issues they can investigate and the process to follow.
Please note, the SRA will not award compensation or redress to you – their role is regulatory (to discipline the solicitor if necessary). If you are seeking compensation or resolution of your personal grievance, that is the role of the Legal Ombudsman. In some cases, you might pursue both routes: for example, complain to the Legal Ombudsman for service issues and to the SRA for misconduct issues.
What Will Happen After You Complain
To summarise: once you file a complaint with us, we will acknowledge it promptly, investigate thoroughly, and respond substantively, usually in writing. We will strive to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction. If you accept our response and resolution, then the matter will be closed. If you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to take it further as outlined above.
We will record and monitor all complaints in our records as part of our continuous improvement. Any lessons learned from resolving complaints will be used to improve our services and prevent similar issues in the future.
We sincerely hope you never have cause to complain about any aspect of our service. However, if you do, rest assured that your complaint will be handled courteously and fairly, and we will work with you to reach a positive resolution.
Note: This Complaints Procedure is provided in accordance with the requirements of the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, which our individual solicitors are bound by, and in the spirit of ensuring transparency and fairness to our clients. If you need this information in an alternative format (e.g. larger print), please let us know.