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Can I raise a dispute with my professional adviser?

As professionals ourselves, we always want you to receive the highest level of support and service from your solicitor, financial adviser or accountant.

This is because we know how significantly it can impact you when things go wrong – whether you’re buying a house, preparing a tax return, selling a business or navigating a dispute of your own, your position can be weakened when an adviser doesn’t act in your best interests.

Raising a dispute against your adviser can feel like a challenge, particularly if you have no prior knowledge of or experience with the legal system.

However, with the right support, this can be the most effective way to resolve the issue and ensure that you achieve the best possible outcome.

The root of the issue

The majority of people only engage with professional services at key moments in life – and these can be positive or negative experiences – such as buying a house, business transactions, or drafting a Will.

This means that disputes with these advisers can arise or be worsened by the situation itself. Relying on someone else and their skills at an important junction in life can be especially frustrating when an error occurs.

Common causes of disputes with solicitors include:

Incorrect advice – Advice that does not align with the law that results in you making a costly decision is the basis for some of the most complex adviser-client disputes.
Fee disputes – Cost can be a driver of civil disputes, so you and your adviser should ensure that pricing and level of support are agreed beforehand.
Breach of GDPR or confidentiality – Potentially a serious example of misconduct, data breaches, particularly with regards to the matter they’re handling for you, can result in significant disputes.

Advisors such as solicitors and accountants strive for the highest professional standards, so it is naturally difficult when things don’t go to plan. We can support you in raising a dispute and identifying the right course of action.

Getting to the bottom of it

The first step in raising and resolving many professional services disputes is to make a complaint through formal internal processes. Your adviser or their firm should have these in place and provide information on how to do so upon request.

We can advise you on how to go about this and what you should and should not say, depending on the circumstances.

If a resolution cannot be achieved through these processes, then you may need to resort to external proceedings, such as:

Mediation – Guided but informal discussion with your adviser where you will both be encouraged to enter a constructive dialogue.
Adjudication – A more formal process where the dispute is ruled upon by an expert, which may be binding before the law.
Litigation – Going through the Courts to present the cases of all parties, which will then be ruled on by a judge.

We understand that raising a dispute with someone who has a thorough understanding of the law and financial regulations can be challenging, but this is the most direct route towards acknowledging wrongdoing and working to set it right.

For further advice on raising a dispute with your professional services provider, please contact our Dispute Resolution team today.