In readiness for the changeover from the Legal Complaints Service to the Legal Ombudsman on 6 October 2010, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have announced:

• amendments to rule 2.05 (complaints handling) and rule 20 (rights and obligations of practice) of the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2007, and
• rule 3 of the Solicitors’ Financial Services (Conduct of Business) Rules 2001 will come into force on that date.

Guidance to rule 2 of the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct, and guidance to rule 3 of the Solicitors’ Financial Services (Conduct of Business) Rules has also been amended.

The SRA state that the amendments to the rules and guidance are needed to reflect

• responsibility for complaints handling passing from the Legal Complaints Service to the Legal Ombudsman on 6 October 2010, and
• the requirements of the Legal Services Board in relation to the information to be given to clients about their right to complain, including their right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman service.

Full details of the changes can be found on the SRA web site.