Regulatory information & complaints
This page explains who regulates Human Law, how to raise a complaint, and the insurance and payment arrangements for our probate dispute advisory services.
1. Professional Regulation
Human Law is the trading name of Justin Patten, an independent sole practitioner authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA Number: 657838). We operate as a recognised sole practice under the SRA Standards and Regulations.
Human Law provides advice and agreed procedural support to help resolve probate disputes out of court. We do not act as solicitor on the court record, conduct contested court litigation or represent clients at trial.
Your engagement letter identifies any Probate Registry steps included in our work, whether we undertake them or prepare documents for you to use, and any steps requiring a separate practitioner. We do not accept formal court service on your behalf. Our agreed service scope is distinct from the firm’s regulatory authorisation.
The professional rules governing our conduct can be accessed via the SRA website at SRA Standards and Regulations.
2. Professional Indemnity Insurance
Human Law maintains compulsory professional indemnity insurance in accordance with the SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules. The SRA minimum cover applicable to a recognised sole practice is £2 million per claim.
For details of our current insurer, its contact details, territorial coverage and applicable policy limit, please email advice@human-law.co.uk. Insurance information is available on request and is not restricted to current clients. Where a claim is asserted, we provide the relevant policy details to those entitled to receive them under the SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules.
3. Complaints
If you are unhappy with our service or charges, please contact Justin Patten, the principal solicitor, who handles complaints personally. Our complaints procedure is free of charge. Raising a complaint will not prejudice the handling of your matter.
Email: advice@human-law.co.uk
Post: Justin Patten, Human Law, Thremhall Park, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, CM22 7WE.
Please describe your concerns, identify the matter concerned and explain the outcome you would like. Include any relevant documents. If you need help making a complaint or an alternative format, please let us know.
- We acknowledge your complaint within two working days.
- We review your concerns, the file and relevant correspondence, and may ask you for further information.
- We provide a substantive written response within 21 working days, explaining our findings and any proposed remedy.
- If further investigation is needed, we explain the reason and tell you when to expect our final response. The eight-week escalation point below still applies.
If you remain dissatisfied: Legal Ombudsman
After giving us an opportunity to address your complaint, you may refer it to the independent Legal Ombudsman if you are unhappy with our final response, or if it remains unresolved eight weeks after you complained to us. You do not have to wait eight weeks if we have already issued our final response.
The Ombudsman’s service is free. It can consider service and costs complaints from eligible complainants, including individuals and certain small organisations, subject to its Scheme Rules.
The usual time limits are:
- Within six months of receiving our final response; and
- Within one year of the act or omission you are complaining about; or within one year of when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.
The Ombudsman may extend these limits in certain circumstances. Contact it directly for guidance about eligibility and time limits.
Legal Ombudsman
PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH
Telephone: 0300 555 0333
Email: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Website: How to bring a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman
Concerns about professional conduct: SRA
The Solicitors Regulation Authority deals with concerns about professional conduct, such as dishonesty, misuse of money or unlawful discrimination. You can report such concerns directly to the SRA without waiting for our complaints procedure to finish. Service and fee disputes are generally matters for our complaints procedure and the Legal Ombudsman.
4. Client Funds & Financial Arrangements
Human Law does not maintain a client account or hold estate assets or settlement funds. Fixed fees for the published pathway are invoiced and payable before work begins on the agreed stage. The engagement letter sets out the work included, payment arrangements, VAT and any additional costs. Work outside that pathway is subject to a separately agreed scope and charging arrangement.
Advance fees paid into the practice’s business account are not ring-fenced in a separate client account. If the practice became insolvent before completing the work, recovery of those payments could be affected. Please raise any concerns about this arrangement before making payment.
If an engagement ends early, authorised work performed and properly incurred third-party expenses remain payable under the engagement terms. Any refund due for work not performed or an overpayment will be accounted for and repaid promptly in accordance with those terms and applicable professional requirements. See our Terms of Business.
5. Data Protection
Human Law processes personal data in accordance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. Our Privacy Notice explains what information we collect, why we use it, how long we keep it and your data protection rights.