Introduction

We are committed to providing the very highest quality of legal service to all of our clients. If something goes wrong, we want you to tell us about it so that we can address the issue with you and resolve the matter to your satisfaction.

Overview and Procedures on How to Make a Complaint

If you have any concerns at any time about the service that we are providing, please take this up with the Client Partner whose name has been notified to you. If you are unable to contact the Client Partner or if you are not satisfied with the response received then you can make contact with our Managing Partner at the address below.

Please set out your complaint in writing and include the following information:

• Your full name and contact details;

• Details of where you feel Eversheds Sutherland failed to act appropriately;

• What you hope to achieve as a result of your complaint; and

• The file reference number connected to the conduct which has caused your complaint.

All complaints should be sent to:

Managing Partner, Eversheds Sutherland LLP, Earlsfort Centre, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, Ireland.

Or email: Complaints@eversheds-sutherland.ie

What will happen next?

• Eversheds Sutherland will send you an acknowledgement of your complaint enclosing a copy of this procedure.

• Responsibility for investigating your complaint will be assigned to the member of the firm best placed to carry out the investigation. They will normally review the file and speak to those who carried out the work.

• If appropriate, you may be invited to a meeting to discuss, and hopefully resolve, your complaint. If we propose a meeting, you will be contacted after sending the acknowledgement letter.

• If a meeting takes place, we will write to you after it takes place confirming what took place and setting out any solutions which were agreed with you.

• Once our investigation is complete, we will send you a detailed reply to your complaint setting out any suggestions for resolving the matter. We would normally expect to send this reply within 28 working days of receipt of the complaint. If we are not able to send you a full reply within that period, we will update you and tell you when we expect to be able to write to you again.

• If you are unhappy with our response, you have a right to refer your complaint to the Legal Services Regulation Authority (“LSRA”). Further details of the LSRA process are set out below.

Costs of Making a Complaint

Eversheds Sutherland will not charge you for handling a complaint.

Please note that where you do not pay a bill we may be entitled to charge interest on any amount outstanding.

The Legal Services Regulation Authority service is also free of charge.

The Legal Services Regulation Authority

The LSRA is an independent organisation with powers to resolve complaints about legal services & costs when issues have not been resolved between an individual and their lawyer.

Complaints to the LSRA must be made in writing. The easiest way to make a complaint is by using their Complaint Form.

• Check the types of complaints that they handle. Check the ‘What You Can Complain About’ page to see if the LSRA is the right place to make a complaint.

• Complete the Complaint Form.

• A full copy of the complaint, along with any additional information you provide to the LSRA, will be given to the solicitor or barrister you are complaining about (and also the Law Society in cases involving a solicitor).

• If you are making a complaint on behalf of someone else, you must include the name and signature of that person.

• If the person you are making a complaint on behalf of is incapable of giving their signed consent because of age or a mental or physical condition, you must indicate this on the form.

Disputes about Costs

If you wish to dispute any aspect of an invoice, Eversheds Sutherland LLP (“Eversheds Sutherland”) will always seek to engage with you and resolve the dispute by informal means. This may include mediation. You have a right under the Legal Services Regulation Act, 2015 (the “Services Regulation Act”), to have an invoice adjudicated by the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicator.

Under the Services Regulation Act, if you wish to dispute any aspect of an invoice you must send us a statement in writing within 21 days of the invoice being provided setting out the nature of the dispute. If an invoice remains unpaid for a period of 30 days, Eversheds Sutherland may apply to have the invoice adjudicated by the Legal Costs Adjudicator.

The Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicator can be reached by:

emailing: infolegalcostsadjudicators@courts.ie

Is there a time limit for making a complaint?

Complaints to the LSRA which relate to alleged inadequate standard of service or excessive costs (or both) have a time limit of three years.

There is no time limit for making a complaint of alleged misconduct.

Can the LSRA look into a complaint about something that happened outside Ireland?

Yes; in certain circumstances the LSRA can accept a complaint against a legal practitioner, relating to activity which constitutes a crime or offence outside the State which, if it occurred within the State, would be an arrestable offence.

Can a complaint relate to conduct outside the course of a legal practitioners profession?

Yes; if the complaint relates to behaviour of a legal practitioner which is likely to bring his/her profession into disrepute or justify a finding that the legal practitioner is not a fit and proper person to engage in the provision of legal services.

Introduction

We are committed to providing the very highest quality of legal service to all of our clients. If something goes wrong, we want you to tell us about it so that we can address the issue with you and resolve the matter to your satisfaction.

Overview and Procedures on How to Make a Complaint

If you have any concerns at any time about the service that we are providing, please take this up with the Client Partner whose name has been notified to you. If you are unable to contact the Client Partner or if you are not satisfied with the response received then you can make contact with our Managing Partner at the address below.

• Please set out your complaint in writing and include the following information:

• Your full name and contact details;

• Details of where you feel Eversheds Sutherland failed to act appropriately;

• What you hope to achieve as a result of your complaint; and

• The file reference number connected to the conduct which has caused your complaint.

All complaints should be sent to:

Managing Partner, 4th Floor, Montgomery House, 29-31 Montgomery Street, Belfast, BT1 4NX.

Or email: Complaints@eversheds-sutherland.ie

What will happen next?

• Eversheds Sutherland will send you an acknowledgement of your complaint enclosing a copy of this procedure.

• Responsibility for investigating your complaint will be assigned to the member of the firm best placed to carry out the investigation. They will normally review the file and speak to those who carried out the work.

• If appropriate, you may be invited to a meeting to discuss, and hopefully resolve, your complaint. If we propose a meeting, you will be contacted after sending the acknowledgement letter.

• If a meeting takes place, we will write to you after it takes place confirming what took place and setting out any solutions which were agreed with you.

• Once our investigation is complete, we will send you a detailed reply to your complaint setting out any suggestions for resolving the matter. We would normally expect to send this reply within 28 working days of receipt of the complaint. If we are not able to send you a full reply within that period, we will update you and tell you when we expect to be able to write to you again.

• If you are unhappy with our response, you have the right to refer your complaint to LSNI (“Law Society Northern Ireland”). Further details of the LSNI process are set out below.

Complaints about Costs

If your case was a non-contentious matter (i.e. did not involve the issuing of Court Proceedings) then you have a statutory right to ask your solicitor to apply to LSNI for a Remuneration Certificate (provided your request is within one month from the issue of the bill of costs and provided the bill has not been paid).

This Certificate will declare either, that what you are being charged is fair and reasonable or, that you should be charged a lesser amount by your solicitor. This service is offered free of charge.

If you are dissatisfied with the Remuneration Certificate you can seek an Order for Taxation provided that the bill is still less than three months old.

If court proceedings were issued in your case, then you can apply or an Order for Taxation by contacting:

Taxing Master’s Office, 2nd Floor, Royal Courts of Justice, Chichester Street, Belfast,BT1 3JF

Tel: 030 0200 7812

Email: taxingoffice@courtsni.gov.uk

Please note that a payment of a fee to the Court is required and a further payment to the solicitor for the taxation costs may be required if it turns out that the amount of the solicitor’s bill is justified.

Costs of Making a Complaint

Eversheds Sutherland will not charge you for handling a complaint.

Please note that where you do not pay a bill we may be entitled to charge interest on any amount outstanding.

The LSNI’s complaint handling procedure is also free of charge.

The Law Society of Northern Ireland’s Complaints Procedure

The LSNI is an independent organisation with powers to resolve complaints about legal services when issues have not been resolved between an individual and their lawyer.

Complaints to the LSNI must be made in writing. The easiest way to make a complaint is by using their Complaint Form.

• You must be a client of the solicitor firm;

• Your complaint MUST be made within six months of completion of your business or within six months of you discovering a cause for concern, whichever is later. Once the solicitors have investigated your complaint and if you are still not happy, then you have a further six months to refer the matter to LSNI

• To check the types of complaints that they handle, please check the ‘Are You Eligible to Make a Complaint’ page on their website to see if the LSNI is the right place to make a complaint.

• Complete the Complaint Form

• A full copy of the complaint, along with any additional information you provide to the LSNI, will be given to the individual you are complaining about.

Can the LSNI look into a complaint about something that happened outside Northern Ireland?

LSNI can investigate a complaint from you where you are seeking to complain about a solicitor who is practising in Northern Ireland as a Registered European Lawyer. You must be the client of the particular Registered European Lawyer you are seeking to complain about.