Legal costs top list of complaints

Complaints in the Australian province of Vicoria have risen by three per cent over the year and are largely made up of costs/bills issues (30 per cent), negligence (17 per cent). Dishonesty/misleading behaviour (six per cent) is next. Nearly half of the complaints (45 per cent) fall into three areas in the Legal Services Commissioner's 2013 report. These are commercial, family law and probate & estate. In total there were 2,039 complaints lodged last year for the province, including its capital Melbourne. Despite concerns about a legal market which might be shrinking there was an increase - of dfour per cent - in the number of solicitors and barristers in practice. The total is now 18,154.  Men (54 per cent) still outnumber women overall in the profession - although women are in the majority among the under-40s. Source: Lawyers Weekly