INSIDE RUNNING: INTERNAL COMPLAINTS MANAGEMENT PRACTICE AND REGULATION IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION CHRISTINE PARKER* AND LINDA HALLER** This paper examines what makes for good complaints management in legal practice, how law firms are faring at complaints management, and the role of a regulator in encouraging implementation of effective complaints management. The first part of the paper argues that it can be important from the point of view of clients, legal practices and regulators for legal practices to implement internal complaints management practices. The second part of the paper considers the potential possibilities and problems when regulators attempt to mandate internal complaints management by legal practices. We examine a recent initiative by the Queensland regulator to ask lawyers to complete a survey on complaints management systems. We argue that this approach — of promoting awareness of, discussion about, and commitment to good complaints management inside legal practices, but without mandating any particular system — is a promising model that other jurisdictions should consider closely. The third part of the paper examines what good complaints management involves in principle, and the perceptions, attitudes and practices of legal and non-legal staff in relation to complaints management, using the results from the Queensland survey. I INTRODUCTION Many jurisdictions throughout the world continue to struggle with how best to deal with complaints about lawyers. Legal profession legislation in a number of states in Australia provides for external and independent Legal Services Commissioners to handle, or at least oversee, complaints made about Australian lawyers. 1 That legislation also generally requires clients to be told in writing about the client’s right to lodge a formal complaint against the firm to external statutory regulators. 2 Much less is said in legislation regarding the obligations, if 1 See Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld) (‘LPA’) ch 4 — Complaints and Discipline. Similar provisions exist in most other states of Australia, including New South Wales and Victoria, the two most populous states. Since this paper uses survey data about Queensland’s legal practices, we cite the relevant provisions of the LPA throughout the paper. 2 See LPA s 331, which requires lawyers to tell clients of alternative external forums in which a client can dispute the costs charged. See also Draft National Legal Profession Law 2009 cl 4.3.7 (3)(b)(iv). * Professor, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne (up to June 2011); Professor, Centre for Regulatory Studies and Law Faculty, Monash University (from July 2011). ** Senior Lecturer, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. The authors are grateful to John Briton and Scott McLean at the Queensland Legal Services Commission for making data available for us to analyse in this paper and for many discussions. We are also grateful to Mevelyn Ong for research assistance in finalising the paper.