Concerns about a lawyer? The Society can help
All lawyers who practise law in Nova Scotia must be members of the Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society, the regulating body for lawyers. The Society acts in the public interest to make sure that Nova Scotia lawyers practise ethically and competently. We set standards of conduct and educate, assist and, if necessary, discipline lawyers who do not meet these standards.

What to do if you have a complaint about a lawyer
Contact the Society’s Professional Responsibility Department at (902) 422-1491 to discuss your concerns. If you choose to pursue a complaint, all complaints must be in writing. You can write us a letter outlining the details of your complaint, or fill out a Complaint Form. To obtain a copy of the form, call us or visit our website at www.nsbs.ns.ca General inquiries via e-mail will be responded to promptly, but the Society will not accept electronically-filed complaints.

There are a few steps you may wish to take before filing a complaint:
1. Speak with the lawyer or a senior partner at the lawyer’s firm. A law firm is interested in keeping its clients happy. We cannot reduce your bill, provide legal work, or compensation, etc., but the law firm may do so in appropriate cases.

2. If you feel that you were charged too much, request an itemized account. If you are still dissatisfied, you may apply to have the account reviewed through Small Claims Court. (See the section on Fee Disputes.)

3. If you have lost confidence in your lawyer you can retain another lawyer. You will probably be required to settle the first lawyer’s account before you can obtain your file and before a second lawyer will take your case.

Filing a complaint -
You can print a complaint form from the website. Be sure to include:
• your name, address and telephone number
• the name, law firm name and address of the lawyer, and
• copies (not originals) of any letters or documents which support your complaint.

Send this to:
Director of Professional Responsibility
Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society
1101-1645 Granville Street
Halifax, NS B3J 1X3

How the Society handles complaints
Our staff will review your complaint to determine how it should be handled. We may also determine that the complaint is not appropriate for investigation. In that case we will send you a letter telling you why.

Dispute resolution
We may suggest an attempt to resolve the complaint through mediation. Both of you must agree to this approach. If the complaint is resolved, we will write you a letter confirming the results. If it is not resolved, or if more serious problems are discovered, the complaint may be investigated further. We may also refer a complaint directly to the lawyer’s law firm to see if the firm can help. We will follow up in these cases to ensure you are satisfied with the outcome.

Investigation of complaints
If we investigate your complaint, a copy will be sent to the lawyer, who must respond in writing within 10 days. In most cases we will send you a copy of the lawyer’s response.
You will not be required to testify at the investigation stage, but we may contact you for further information and request a recorded interview. All investigations are confidential, and we will inform you of the results. Following the investigation, we may decide that based on the evidence the complaint will be dismissed. You can request a review of that decision within 30 days.
The Complaints Investigation Committee examines the evidence and determines whether the lawyer has breached any of our standards of conduct.They can dismiss a complaint, or advise, counsel, caution or reprimand the lawyer. The Subcommittee cannot order the lawyer to pay a complainant for losses or damages. They also have emergency powers to deal quickly with serious problems in the interests of protecting the public, such as temporary suspension or restriction of the lawyer’s practice.

Discipline Hearings
The Society’s Hearing Committee holds hearings, which are open to the public, to consider charges of professional misconduct, conduct unbecoming a lawyer, and incompetence. Notices of hearings are placed on our website seven days before a hearing. A lawyer representing the Society prosecutes the charges. The lawyer who has been charged may be represented by a lawyer. You may be required as a witness at the discipline hearing, but you will likely not need your own lawyer. The Society’s solicitor will help you understand the process.
If the Hearing Committee finds the charges against a lawyer to be proven, it can reprimand, fine, impose conditions of practice, suspend or disbar the lawyer. The Hearing Committee generally does not have the authority to order the lawyer to pay any money to a complainant for losses or damages incurred. We will inform you in writing of the decision, and publish the decision to other lawyers. We publish a public notice whenever a lawyer is suspended or disbarred.

Fee Disputes
If you and your lawyer have not thoroughly discussed how much your case will cost, you may not know what to expect on your lawyer’s final statement of account. If you feel that your lawyer’s fee is too high or incorrect and you cannot resolve this with your lawyer, you can ask Small Claims Court to review it. The Society cannot assist with disputes about your lawyer’s fees. Small Claims Court has the authority to reduce the account in appropriate circumstances. The address of the Small Claims Court in your area can be found at: www.courts.ns.ca, or call the Society at (902) 422-1491.

Negligence
The Society’s Professional Responsibility Department does not investigate complaints of lawyer negligence because professional negligence (i.e., errors and omissions) is not generally considered a disciplinary matter. The Society requires that practising insured lawyers be covered by professional liability insurance. The Lawyers' Insurance Association of Nova Scotia administers this insurance plan for lawyers.

Lawyers' Fund for Client Compensation
The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society's Lawyers' Fund for Client Compensation is a discretionary fund maintained through annual contributions from lawyers in Nova Scotia, for the purpose of making grants to those persons who have sustained a loss through the misappropriation or conversion of funds entrusted to their lawyer in the lawyer’s professional capacity. For more information contact our Professional Responsibility Department at (902) 422-1491