Once you have reported a concern, here is what happens next.

Acknowledgement and assessment

We will acknowledge your report and give you a reference number. Quote this in any further correspondence. We then assess the information to decide whether the matter falls within our remit and whether it raises a potential breach of the SRA Standards and Regulations.

Possible outcomes of assessment

• We take no further action, for example where the matter is about service and is better suited to the Legal Ombudsman
• We keep the information on file as intelligence, which may inform future work about that firm
• We ask you or the firm for more information
• We open an investigation

If we investigate

We will usually put the concerns to the solicitor or firm and invite a response. Investigations vary considerably in length depending on their complexity and whether other agencies are involved.

What we can and cannot tell you

We will tell you the outcome of your report where we are able to. We cannot always share the detail of an investigation, and we cannot obtain compensation, damages or an apology for you. Where we take action against a solicitor and that decision is published, it will appear on their record on the Solicitors Register.