THE Law Society will release a new set of ethical guidelines tomorrow to help combat rising complaints about unprofessional conduct.
The regulations, which cover all aspects of professional conduct, have taken a working committee four years to prepare and will replace English standards now considered to be outdated.
The guidelines are coming out at a time when the society is tightening up its internal investigation procedures and increasing the checking of lawyers' records.
Last year, 441 complaint files were opened on solicitors following reports from the public, compared to 424 in 1993.
Complaints alleging unprofessional conduct rose as a proportion from 35 per cent to 58.3 per cent although actual misconduct claims dropped from 329 to 257 incidents.
The number of cases resolved through conciliation fell to 20 per cent of all complaints despite two-fifths of matters being settled in 1993.