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Complaints against barristers by litigants-in-person forced by legal aid cuts to represent themselves are rising fast, according to the Bar Standards Board. Many result from a misunderstanding of the role of opposition barristers. The Justice Bill, containing more cuts, should be published today.

Complaints are a law firm’s best source of market intelligence. I’ve heard this said countless times in recent years, previously by the Legal Complaints Service and its many forebears, and now by the Legal Services Board. “Many lawyers are missing the chance to learn from substantial numbers of consumers who make a complaint,” said LSB chief executive Chris Kenny last week. It may well be true. But hardly any lawyer believes it.

The Bar Standards Board has approved the latest version of guidance on “signposting” requirements to notify lay clients of their rights to complain about poor service. It hopes the new formula will satisfy both disgruntled barristers and the Legal Services Board.

Frontline regulators are letting down consumers by failing to collect information on how lawyers are handling complaints, a review by the Legal Services Board has concluded. This would make it difficult for them “to identify systemic issues and adopt a targeted approach to regulation”.

Four out of ten barristers’ chambers have flouted a regulatory requirement to notify lay clients of their rights to complain about poor service, amid a continuing furore over difficulties in complying with the scheme, it has emerged. Meanwhile, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has confirmed that solicitors are under no obligation to assist barristers in contacting clients directly in order to meet their obligations.