Ian Cohen's response

Your starting point should be the Solicitors Regulation Authority
see http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems.page
Regards
Ian

Daniel Stanton's response

The first step is to raise the issue with the lawyer involved. If you are not satisfied then you need to contact the person within the practice who deals with complaints. Such persons are usually named in your original 'letter of engagement' or 'client care pack'.

Assuming your complaint is against a solicitor or other regulated person (i.e. a person working within a solicitor's practice), if you are still not satisfied then you can contact the Legal Complaints Service, which is effectively a branch of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

If your lawyer is unregulated, such as an unqualified will-writer unattached to a solicitor's practice, you will need to consult a solicitor to consider a potential claim on the basis that the will-writer has not carried out the service as per their client's instructions, or have carried it out without proper care and attention.

The Authority can only deal with complaints about poor service standards. If your complaint is that your lawyer did something incorrect and the lawyer's actions have caused you loss as a result, you may have a claim in negligence and the Authority will direct you to take appropriate legal advice on the issue from another solicitor.

I hope this helps.