LEGAL SERVICES COMMISSIONER ANNUAL REPORT 2012

An explanation and apology resolved the complaintAngela’s brother John suffered a brain injury many years ago which left him with communication difficulties andsome intellectual impairment.After being hospitalised, Angela decided that it would be in John’s best interests for him to appoint her as his enduringattorney for the purposes of medical treatment and looking after his finances. John understood that Angela would makedecisions for him if he was not able to do so. They made an appointment to see Bruce, a lawyer at a legal centre, to assistthem in drawing up the powers of attorney.Unfortunately there was some confusion with appointment times, which meant that twice they turned up with noappointment having been recorded. Angela was very frustrated with this and expressed her concern with the legalcentre’s support staff.When they did eventually see Bruce, he asked to see John alone so he could verify John’s capacity to appoint Angelaas his enduring attorney. John was frightened and confused and would not speak. Bruce formed the view that Johndid not have capacity and refused to draw up the documents. A few days later, Angela sent to Bruce a certificate fromJohn’s doctor, which confirmed the nature of John’s disability and capacity. However, Bruce had gone on extended leaveand did not respond. Angela was extremely angry and complained to the LSC about the way she and her brother hadbeen treated.A RRT officer discussed the complaint with Angela. The RRT officer explained to Angela that while she could see howoffended and upset she was, Bruce had actually been right to see John by himself, as some people do take advantage ofvulnerable relatives and friends. Although the RRT officer discussed with Angela other options available to her, Angelasaid she wanted to go back to the legal centre to get the documents drawn up and she wanted an apology, noting thatBruce could still refuse if he wasn’t sure John had capacity. The RRT officer offered to contact Bruce to get his version ofevents and see if the issue could be resolved.When contacted, Bruce said that his staff had confirmed there was an issue with their appointment system, and that theywere upset by how Angela had spoken to them. He confirmed that he was not at all concerned with Angela’s motives orhonesty towards her brother. He sent a letter explaining what had happened, which was passed on to Angela, togetherwith an offer to continue to assist her and John.Angela was not happy that the letter did not acknowledge how upset she was, but was willing to discuss her concernsdirectly with Bruce. Bruce subsequently called Angela, apologised and offered to help her and John. A satisfactoryresolution was reached and Angela withdrew her complaint. The LSC also provided some advice to Bruce aroundimprovements regarding the appointment system employed by the legal centre.Legal Services COMMISSIONER Annual Report 2012 13