New Zealand Law Society - Handling a dispute
As a consumer of legal services, you have the right to expect good service from your lawyer that meets their professional obligations.
When things don’t go as expected, it’s best to deal with it straight away, and first consider raising your concerns with the lawyer or law firm directly. Outlining concerns early can lead to the situation being resolved, even if you decide you would still like someone else to act for you.
Start by making notes of what your specific concerns or questions are. You can organise your notes with key dates, accompanied by any relevant emails or correspondence from your lawyer. You can ask someone you trust to read over the notes to make sure the concerns are clear.
If your dispute is specifically about legal fees and billing, we have some tips to help you manage disagreements on fees.
Think about what outcome you are hoping for by raising your concerns, e.g. do you want an explanation or more information from the lawyer? Do you want an agreement that the lawyer contact you more regularly or respond to your queries more quickly?
Call your lawyer and let them know you’d like to discuss your concerns. If they’re busy, you may need to arrange a time that suits both of you. In your meeting:
If your concern is about what work the lawyer is required to do, refer to any notes of discussions with the lawyer or the Terms of engagement and Client Care information (the lawyer must provide these to you when they start acting for you).
Make sure you have a clear record of your concerns and what you both agreed on in writing. It is likely that your lawyer will also send you a letter regarding the conversation. If you disagree with their description of the conversation, you should raise that with them as soon as possible.
Take notes of any follow-up conversations or meetings so that you have a record of these.
As a general principle, polite, clear and concise communications are more effective in achieving a positive response.
What if you can't agree
If you can’t agree, find out from your lawyer what the next step is and what this means for the remainder of the legal work you had agreed for them to do on your behalf.
If you feel comfortable, you may want to explain what you would like to do next and why.
Take notes from your conversation and put it in writing. Ask your lawyer to also confirm in writing to ensure you both understand it correctly.
You can change lawyers if you would prefer someone else to act for you. You should, however, note that you will need to pay for the work already done by the existing lawyer, who may retain your file until payment is received (subject to any Privacy Act request you may make for your personal information).
Be aware that your new lawyer will need to come up to speed with your case and will charge you for the time spent reviewing the file and the work done by your former lawyer. When consulting with a new lawyer about your matter, ask them upfront what the likely costs will be, including time spent reviewing the file. You should also be aware that a new lawyer may suggest a different approach to your matter. You can ask them why their advice is different from the advice you received from your current lawyer. This information will help you decide whether you'd like to accept new advice or stay on the same path with your current lawyer.
If you remain concerned about the service you have received from your lawyer or conduct of a lawyer, our Lawyers Complaints Service may be able to look into it for you.
There are a few things to consider before making a complaint with the Law Society. You can also check out our complaints process to understand how it works.