Complaints about lawyers

A Disciplinary Committee is active under the auspices of the Icelandic Bar Association.

The tasks of the Lawyers’ Disciplinary Committee

  • To deal with a dispute between a lawyer and his Client concerning the right to and amount of payment for the lawyer's work.
  • To deal with a complaint against a lawyer from a party on account of conduct that may constitute a violation of Laws or the Codex Ethicus (Lawyers’ code of conduct).

How to send a complaint to the Disciplinary Committee

A complaint to the committee must be submitted within a year after it was possible to communicate it to the committee. Otherwise, the committee will reject the submission.

When submitting a case to the committee, the plaintiff must pay a court fee of ISK 12.500 which must be transferred to the Bar Association's account no. 0334-26-1207, ID number 450269-2209. A receipt should be sent to the email address urskurdarnefnd@lmfi.is.

If the committee rules in favor of the plaintiff, the court fee will be refunded to him.

Submissions to the committee must be in writing (see form here) and must contain the following information on the plaintiff: 

  • Plaintiff's name
  • ID number
  • Address
  • Email
  • Phone number
  • The complaint must be signed by the plaintiff or his representative.

The complaint must include the following information on the lawyer who is the subject of the complaint, and the matter itself.

  • The lawyer's name and address
  • The facts of the case
  • Which claims are being made
  • The evidence on which they are based.

Submissions to the committee should be delivered to the Bar Association's office, Álftamýri 9, Reykjavík, or via email to the address urskurdarnefnd@lmfi.is. Procedure before the Disciplinary Committee usually takes 8-10 months.

The procedure for a complaint before the disciplinary committee: 

  • A complaint is received.
  • The defendant gets an opportunity to submit a statement (usually 1-2 months).
  • The plaintiff gets an opportunity to comment on the defendant's statement (usually 1-2 months). 
  • The defendant gets an opportunity to comment on the plaintiff's comments (usually 1-2 months).
  • The committee rules on the matter (usually 2-5 months).
 
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