We were all taught to say “please” and “thank you”.  Well, here’s another lesson in good manners!  If you are ever faced with a complaint from a public access client, make sure you deal with the complaint courteously.

In a recent High Court ruling, Coulson, J described a public access barrister’s response to a complaint as “aggressive and discourteous”, and upheld the Legal Ombudsman’s decision to award the client £600, for distress, over the language used in his letter.  The barrister contended that he was entitled to defend himself in a robust way, however Coulson, J concluded that “the defence of himself exceeded the boundaries of acceptable robustness”.

READ MORE ABOUT THE CASE http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2016/612.html