At Stepien Lake we pride ourselves in providing a prompt and responsive service, whilst at the same time maintaining high standards of legal advice to all our clients. When something goes wrong we need you to tell us about it. This will help us to improve our standards and our service to you. If you have a complaint about any aspect of our service then in the first instance please speak to the client partner. If that does not resolve the problem to your satisfaction then please set out the nature of your complaint in writing and send it marked for the attention of:

Keith Mason, Practice Manager, Stepien Lake LLP, 43 Welbeck Street, London W1G 8DX

Or email your complaint to: keith.mason@stepienlake.co.uk. The Complaint Manager for this firm is Edward Bannister, partner.

What will happen next?

Within 5 days

• The Complaints Manager will send you a letter confirming acknowledgment of your complaint and detailing how your complaint will be dealt with. We will also let you know the name of the person who will be dealing with your complaint.
• We will record your complaint in our central register and open a separate file for your complaint.
• We will immediately start to investigate your complaint – we will provide a copy of your complaint to the person who you have complained and ask them to provide their comments regarding your complaint.

Within 10 days

• We may request that the employee or partner that the complaint relates to provide their full written response to your complaint to The Complaints Manager within 10 days.
• The Complaints Manager will then examine both your complaint and the individuals and, where necessary, review the case file. Having evaluated the situation, the complaints manager may also conduct a meeting with the individual complained of if deemed necessary.

Within 15 days

Having undertaken a full review of your complaint and considered all other material matters, you will receive a full written response to your complaint within 15 days from the date that your complaint was first received. This letter may make suggestions for resolving the matter. Should you wish to do so, you may make an appointment to discuss the nature of the complaint and the reasoning behind the decision with the complaints manager.

Additional Review

If you are unsatisfied with the decision of the Complaints Manager, you can request that his or her decision be reviewed further by a partner of the firm. You should make the third request within 21 days from the date of receiving the written decision. The allocated partner will review your further complaint and provide a written response within 10 days from the date of receiving your written request for review. This letter will confirm our final position regarding your complaint and explain our reasons.

What to do if we cannot resolve your complaint

The Legal Ombudsman can help you if we are unable to resolve your complaint ourselves. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case.

Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

• Within six months of receiving our final response to your complaint

and

• No more than one year from the date of the act or omission being complained about; or
• No more than one year from the date when you should reasonably have known that there was cause for complaint.

For more information contact the Legal Ombudsman.

What to do if you are unhappy with our behaviour

The Solicitors Regulation Authority can help if you are concerned about our behaviour. This could be for things like dishonesty, taking or losing your money or treating you unfairly because of your age, a disability or other characteristic.

Visit their website to see how you can raise your concerns with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.