What you can complain to Resolution about

We can investigate your complaint if it meets all of the following criteria:

  • The person is a current resolution member (not an Associate). Contact us to check their membership status.
  • Your complaint is specifically about a breach of our Code of Practice.
  • You have already complained to the member directly and received a response.
  • There are no active legal proceedings or negotiations taking place.
  • If you have complained to a regulator, that process must be fully completed.
  • You have not sued for negligence and do not intend to do so.
  • The matter typically needs to have concluded within the last 12 months. However, if this timeframe has been exceeded because you were waiting for a regulator’s decision, we will take this into account and may still be able to accept your complaint.

Send us your complaint

When to raise your concerns with another organisation

Resolution cannot handle complaints regarding regulation or court rules, such as delays, costs, negligence, or professional misconduct (e.g., dishonesty). We can help you find the right organisation to make a complaint to if this is the case for you:

For serious misconduct: if your concern involves fraud, lying to the court, or taking advantage of you as a litigant in person please contact the relevant regulator. Solicitors are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), barristers by the Bar Standards Board (BSB), and legal executives by the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx).

For court matters: issues regarding court delays or legal costs are often best handled by the court itself.

For breaches of the Code of Practice: if a member has breached the Resolution Code of Practice, we want to know. If a Regulator or Court has already upheld a complaint against one of our members, please share the outcome report with us.

Still not sure who to contact? Get in touch with us and we’ll help you find the right organisation.

Timing your complaint

If you are currently in the middle of court proceedings or negotiations, we must wait until the case, negotiations and communications have concluded. This is for several important reasons:

  • Legal boundaries: we are a voluntary membership body, not a statutory regulator. We cannot legally intervene in active court cases or override the rules set by bodies like the SRA.

  • Protecting progress: our primary goal is to ensure that a complaint doesn’t disrupt sensitive negotiations, especially those involving children. We aim to maintain the “equilibrium” of your discussions.

  • Confidentiality: during a case, lawyers are bound by strict privacy rules. Investigating a complaint early could risk disclosing “privileged” information that should only be shared with the court’s permission.

Not sure if you can make a complaint to us right now? Get in touch with us and we’ll let you know.