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Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006

Complaints and discipline - Complaints

132: Complaints about practitioners, incorporated firms, and their employees

You could also call this:

"How to complain about a lawyer or legal service"

Illustration for Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006

You can complain to the complaints service about a lawyer or a company that provides legal services. You can complain about their conduct or the standard of service they provided. You can also complain if you think they did not follow an order made by a Standards Committee or the Legal Complaints Review Officer. You can complain about a bill of costs if you think it is too high. This complaint can be made to the complaints service. The complaint must be about a bill of costs from a lawyer or a company that provides legal services. If you have a complaint, you should look at sections 160 and 161 to see what you can do. These sections have more information about complaints. You can use this information to help you make your complaint.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM366170.

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Crime and justice > Courts and legal helpMoney and consumer rights > Consumer protection
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131: Rules relating to Standards Committees, or

"Rules for how Standards Committees handle complaints and do their job"

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133: Complaint of failure to comply with order or final determination, or

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Part 7Complaints and discipline
Complaints

132Complaints about practitioners, incorporated firms, and their employees

  1. Any person may complain to the appropriate complaints service about—

  2. the conduct—
    1. of a practitioner or former practitioner; or
      1. of an incorporated firm or former incorporated firm; or
        1. of a person who is not a practitioner but who is an employee or former employee of a practitioner or an incorporated firm; or
        2. the standard of the service provided, in relation to the delivery of regulated services,—
          1. by a practitioner or former practitioner; or
            1. by an incorporated firm or former incorporated firm; or
              1. by a person who is not a practitioner but who is an employee or former employee of a practitioner or an incorporated firm; or
              2. the alleged failure of a practitioner or former practitioner or an incorporated firm or former incorporated firm, or an employee or former employee of a practitioner or an incorporated firm, to comply, within a specified time or a reasonable time, with any order or final determination made under this Act by a Standards Committee or the Legal Complaints Review Officer.

                1. Any person who is chargeable with a bill of costs, whether it has been paid or not, may complain to the appropriate complaints service about the amount of any bill of costs rendered by a practitioner or former practitioner or an incorporated firm or former incorporated firm (being a bill of costs that meets the criteria specified in the rules governing the operation of the Standards Committee that has the function of dealing with the complaint).

                2. Nothing in subsection (2) limits the provisions of sections 160 and 161.

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