The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has opened a public consultation on proposed changes to the way law firms in England and Wales handle client complaints. Running from 3 July to 1 September 2026, the consultation would introduce new obligations designed to give clients clearer expectations and more consistent communication once a complaint is raised. The proposals arrive at a moment of mounting pressure on the profession, with first-tier complaint volumes reaching their highest level since records began and resolution rates edging downwards.
What the SRA Is Proposing
Under the draft rules, firms would be required to provide clients with an indicative timeline for resolving a complaint at the point it is first raised, and to offer regular progress updates throughout the process. The requirements would be embedded in paragraph 8.3.1 of the Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs, and in section 7.1(c) of the Code of Conduct for Firms. The consultation builds on earlier proposals put forward in 2025, which the regulator is now proceeding with unchanged, extending them with the new timeline and update duties.
The Numbers Behind the Review
The SRA has framed the reforms against a sharp rise in demand. Firms received more than 41,000 first-tier complaints in 2025, the highest figure since the regulator began keeping records in 2012 and an increase of around 11 per cent on 2024. Over the same period, the proportion of complaints resolved at first tier slipped from 82 per cent to 80 per cent. The Legal Ombudsman, which handles second-tier complaints escalated beyond the firm, identified poor complaints handling in 46 per cent of the cases it investigated during 2025-26, underlining the regulator's concern that early-stage processes are not always working as intended.
A Wider Regulatory Shift
The consultation forms part of a broader recalibration of how legal complaints are managed across the sector. The Legal Ombudsman is forecasting a 174 per cent rise in complaints since 2019-20, a trajectory that has prompted parallel activity elsewhere in the system. Separately, the Ombudsman has proposed revised case fee structures intended to encourage firms to resolve disputes earlier, before they escalate to second-tier review. Taken together, the measures reflect a policy direction that places greater emphasis on prompt, transparent handling at the firm level rather than relying on external escalation.
What Firms Should Consider
For solicitors and firm managers, the practical questions centre on how a mandatory resolution timeline would be calculated, recorded and communicated, and how frequently progress updates would need to be issued to satisfy the new standard. Firms with high complaint volumes or complex matters may need to review internal workflows, client-care documentation and case-management systems to ensure they can evidence compliance. The consultation period offers an opportunity for practitioners, representative bodies and consumer groups to comment on the workability of the proposals before any final rules are confirmed.
More broadly, the review signals a continuing tightening of client-protection expectations in the legal services market. Should the changes be adopted, they would formalise standards of responsiveness that many well-run firms already meet informally, while raising the regulatory floor for those that do not. The outcome will be watched closely across the profession, not least because it sits alongside the Legal Ombudsman's own reforms and points to a system increasingly geared towards resolving disputes quickly and transparently at their source.
