Complaints on licensed trial counsel

You can complain about the service provided by a licensed trial counsel to the independent Disciplinary Board operating in connection with the Finnish Bar Association. The complaint must be made in writing and delivered to the Disciplinary Board, not to the Board on Trial Counsel. The subject of the complaint can be, for example, the client’s or opposite party’s dissatisfaction with the way in which the licensed trial counsel has carried out the assignment entrusted to them.

Complaints may only be filed about actions taken after the lawyer was granted a license to serve as trial counsel. The date of granting the licence can be checked from the public trial counsel register. A complaint may be dismissed if more than five years have elapsed from the events concerned.

The purpose of a supervision case is to determine whether the licensed trial counsel has followed the required professional ethical standards in the assignment referred to in the complaint. The Board cannot examine claims for damages or other claims made by the complainant against the licensed trial counsel, including demands for punishment, nor can it resolve disputes concerning fees. Claims not related to professional ethics must be resolved in the ordinary court. A dispute concerning the counsel’s fee can be submitted to the Consumer Disputes Board.

Supervision cases can also be instituted by an announcement made to the Disciplinary Board by the Chancellor of Justice or a court.