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The Law Society of Ireland has welcomed the recommendation from the Legal Services Regulation Authority (LSRA) that it be empowered to dismiss complaints against solicitors that are frivolous, vexatious, or otherwise baseless in nature. The recommendation was contained in an LSRA report, , published in September 2025.   

President of the Law Society Eamon Harrington, said: "We welcome the LSRA Report, which recommends amending the Act to empower the LSRA to dismiss complaints at an earlier stage where they are deemed manifestly inadmissible. 

"Since assuming responsibility for handling solicitor complaints in 2019, the LSRA has found that around half of all complaints each year are either inadmissible or not upheld. Ensuring that genuine complaints are addressed swiftly and effectively is essential, and this proposal will help streamline the process."  

 At present, the LSRA is required to formally investigate all complaints, a process that necessitates engagement with both the legal practitioner and complainant even in respect of complaints that are manifestly frivolous, vexatious, or without foundation. There are strict legislative requirements regarding the exchange of correspondence before an admissibility decision can be reached. This has the consequence of delaying the processing of real and genuine complaints.   

Under the existing Act ‘any person’ may make a complaint in respect of a legal practitioner ‘where the person considers that the act or omission of the person constitutes misconduct’. It is not necessary for the complainant to be a client nor is it necessary to link the alleged misconduct with the provision of legal services. 

There is no filtration mechanism for complaints at the very beginning of the review process. This has the operational effect of placing an unnecessary administrative burden on LSRA staff and creating delays.    

Law Society President Eamonn Harrington said: “The Law Society has engaged with the LSRA in an effort to improve the existing complaints process. We previously recommended legislative amendments to the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 to allow the LSRA to dismiss complaints that are clearly baseless, without merit or foundation. We welcome this recommendation.” 

“We are urging the Government to introduce the legislation and bring the LSRA’s recommendation into law.”