COLLAS CRILL COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

1IF YOU WISH TO MAKE A COMPLAINT

2INTRODUCTION

2.1The General Legal Council in the BVI, the Law Society in Jersey, The Guernsey Bar, The Cayman Island Monetary Authority and the Cayman Bar are the official regulators for legal professionals in their respective jurisdictions.

2.2The General Legal Council (in the BVI), The Law Society of Jersey, The Guernsey Bar, and the Cayman Island Monetary Authority and the Cayman Bar usually request lawyers to investigate any complaints before they get involved. This is because many complaints can be dealt with successfully by good communication between lawyer and client at the outset of a problem.

3TIME LIMIT FOR MAKING COMPLAINTS

3.1It is important that you let us have your complaint as soon as possible after the date of the event you want to complain about. This is so that we can investigate your complaint promptly and in the interests of fairness to all those concerned. To investigate your complaint you must fill in the Complaint Form which will be supplied to you upon request or which you can access on our website. If you have difficulty or require assistance in completing this form then you should inform us of this. If we do not receive your complaint within 6 months of the matter you want to complain about, we may decide that we can no longer deal with it. In deciding whether to deal with a complaint which is more than 6 months old, we will bear in mind:

3.1.1the seriousness of the complaint; and

3.1.2any exceptional circumstances which justify investigation of it in the light of the fact that it is more than 6 months old.

4TYPES OF COMPLAINT THAT WE CAN INVESTIGATE

4.1Professional misconduct is when a legal practitioner has broken the rules set out in the respective Law Society of Jersey Code of Conduct, the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Guernsey Advocate and any laws, rules or regulations (including any amendments that have been made to such laws, rules and regulations) which govern all locally qualified lawyers in the BVI, Cayman, Guernsey and Jersey (“Rules”).

4.2The Rules specify the standards of conduct on the part of Jersey and Guernsey qualified lawyers which are appropriate. The Law Society of Jersey’s Code of Conduct is published by the Law Society of Jersey at www.jerseylawsociety.je. The Rules of Professional Conduct of the Guernsey Advocate are published at http://www.guernseybar.com/. The Cayman Bar Code of Conduct can be found at http://www.caymanbar.org.ky/wp-content/uploads/Code-of-Conduct-1.pdf. The BVI code can be found in Schedule 4 of the Legal Professions Act, 2015 (a copy is available upon request).

4.3In Jersey, breach of the Code of Conduct is a disciplinary offence and complaints are referred to the President of the Law Society to investigate whether a disciplinary offence capable of punishment has been committed. If the President of the Law Society is satisfied that there are sufficient grounds for considering the complaint he will refer the papers to a Law Society Disciplinary Committee.

4.4In Guernsey under the Guernsey Bar (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 2007, the Chambre of Discipline shall hear any complaint concerning a member of the Guernsey Bar in respect of processional misconduct.

4.5In Cayman, pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Law (2012 Revision), a complaint against a Cayman Islands attorney-at-law should be made to the Chief Justice and a copy sent to the Attorney General. The Chief Justice has powers to suspend an attorney from practising for a specified period or to strike them from the Court Roll entirely. The penalty of striking from the Court Roll is reserved for matters of gross misconduct.

4.6In BVI, pursuant to the Legal Professions Act, 2015 a complaint against a BVI legal practitioner should be made to the Disciplinary Tribunal.

4.7Inadequate professional service is when our services have fallen significantly below the standard you are entitled to expect. We will always investigate complaints about the service provided to you by one of our lawyers.

4.8Sometimes a complaint covers both professional misconduct and inadequate professional service, but, provided you tell us what your complaint is about, you will not need to specify which of these two types your complaint is. We will then decide whether we can investigate all aspects of your complaint.

5TYPES OF COMPLAINT WE CANNOT INVESTIGATE

5.1There are certain types of complaint which we cannot investigate, and there are others where our powers of investigation are limited.

5.2For example, we may not be able to investigate your complaint as you might wish if it is a matter to be decided by the courts in any relevant jurisdiction. Professional negligence complaints, for example, are often complex and cannot be easily determined without detailed evidence being given. For example facts may be disputed between client and lawyer, or expert evidence is required.

6MAKING YOUR COMPLAINT

6.1Please note the following when making your complaint:

6.1.1Complaints should initially be made to the partner or director responsible for the matter in question. If the issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may raise your concern with the head of department acting for you, who will cause the matter to be thoroughly investigated. We would prefer to resolve the issues face to face. However should you still remain dissatisfied with any part of our service to you, you should register your complaint with one of the Managing Partners of Collas Crill. We have a Managing Partner in each respective jurisdiction, with the exception of Jersey, where a complaint should be referred to the Group Managing Partner if it cannot be resolved. All references to "Managing Partner" below refer to the Group Managing Partner if the matter is in Jersey.

6.1.2Any complaint directed to a Managing Partner should be made in writing and the required form completed.

6.2Our preferred choice is to receive the complaint to the respective Managing Partner in writing so as to maintain an audit trail. If you wish to pursue your complaint please address your letter to:

For Jersey law complaints
The Managing Partner
Collas Crill
Gaspé House
66-72 Esplanade
St Helier
Jersey JE1 4XD

For Guernsey law and English law complaints
The Managing Partner
Collas Crill
Glategny Court PO Box 140
Glategny Esplanade
Guernsey GY 14EW

For Cayman law complaints
The Managing Partner
Collas Crill
Floor 2, Willow House
Cricket Square, PO Box 709
Grand Cayman KY1-1107
Cayman Islands

For BVI law complaints
The Managing Partner
Collas Crill
125 Main Street
PO Box 144
Road Town
Tortola
British Virgin Islands

Your envelope should be marked “Complaint” and include a copy of the completed Complaints Form.

6.3We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within two working days of receipt.

6.4When using the Complaints Form please ensure that you use the space provided to explain as clearly and precisely as you can the nature of your complaint. This should be returned to us within 7 days of the date which it was sent to you.

6.5By making a written complaint to Collas Crill you are agreeing to the investigation of your complaint in accordance with the procedures and terms set out below.

7INVESTIGATION PROCEDURE

7.1Once your complaint is received, the respective the Managing Partner (provided he/she is not be the person you are complaining about) will write to you within 5 working days after receipt of your Complaint Form to let you know that he or she has been notified of the complaint.

7.2The respective Managing Partner will carry out an investigation of your complaint and will report on your complaint within 30 working days of Collas Crill having received your Complaint Form. If the investigation is delayed, the respective Managing Partner will set a new date for completion of the investigation and will inform you of that date. In these circumstances you should receive a considered response within a maximum of 40 working days from receipt of your Complaint Form.

7.3The respective Managing Partner will set out:

7.3.1the nature and scope of the investigation;

7.3.2the conclusion that the respective Senior Partner had reached on each matter of complaint and the reason for that conclusion; and

7.3.3if your complaint has been found to be justified, proposals for resolving it.

7.4During the Course of the investigation, the respective Managing Partner may need to disclose the fact of your complaint, and the details of it to:

7.4.1the person or persons about whom you have complained;

7.4.2those whom he feels can assist him in any investigation of the relevant facts to your complaint;

7.4.3our professional indemnity insurers of Collas Crill;

7.4.4The Law Society of Jersey;

7.4.5The Guernsey Bar;

7.4.6The Cayman Bar;

7.4.7The Cayman Monetary Authority; and/or

7.4.8The General Legal Council in the BVI.

7.5The respective Managing Partner will not however disclose the fact of your complaint or details of it to anyone outside the law firm unless he decides that it is necessary to do so in the interests of a full and fair investigation or if he otherwise feels obliged to do so.

7.6The respective Managing Partner’s report will be sent to you, and to the partner in charge of the complaint, and to the person you complained about.

7.7All persons to whom your complaint is disclosed pursuant to the above will be required to keep the fact of your complaint and the details of it, and all conversations and documents relating to it, confidential.

8COMPLAINTS TO THE LAW SOCIETY OF JERSEY

8.1If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation you may take your complaint to the Law Society of Jersey. As stated above the Law Society of Jersey does not usually consider your complaint until it has first been investigated by the law firm in question.

8.2If the Law Society of Jersey feels that your complaint is very serious, it can refer the complaint to the Attorney General.

8.3Complaints to the Law Society should be written to the Secretary of the Jersey Law Society at the following address:

Jersey Law Society
P.O. Box 493
St Helier
Jersey
JE4 5SZ
T: +44 (0)1534 613920
W: www.jerseylawsociety.je

9COMPLAINTS TO THE GUERNSEY BAR

9.1If you are unhappy with the outcome of our investigation you may take your complaint to the Guernsey Bar. As stated above the Guernsey Bar does not usually consider your complaint until it has first been investigated by the law firm in question.

9.2If the Guernsey Bar feels that your complaint is very serious, it can refer the complaint to the Chambre de Discipline.

9.3Complaints to the Guernsey Bar should be written to the Bâtonnier of the Guernsey Bar at the following address:

Bâtonnier
Advocate Simon Davies
Ogier (Guernsey) LLP
Redwood House
St Julian's Avenue
St Peter Port
Guernsey
GY1 1WA

10COMPLAINTS TO THE CAYMAN BAR ASSOCIATION

10.1Pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Law (2012 Revision), a complaint against a Cayman Islands attorney-at-law should be made to the Chief Justice with a copy of such complaint sent to the Attorney General.

10.2The Chief Justice will make an assessment regarding the gravity of the complaint and will decide what action should be taken.

10.3The attorney who is the subject of any complaint must be given notice of the complaint and an opportunity to call witnesses and to be heard.

11COMPLAINTS TO THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL

12COMPLAINTS GOVERNING OUR UK PROPERTY LAW SERVICE