Legal Services Ombudsman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In England and Wales, the Legal Services Ombudsman is a statutory office that investigates allegations about the improper, ineffective or inefficient way that complaints about lawyers are handled by their respective self-regulating professional bodies. The Ombudsman is appointed by, and is answerable to, the Lord Chancellor and Minister of Justice.[1]
The Ombudsman started work on 2 January 1991, and in its first decade undertook 10,531 investigations:
- 9,456 complaints about solicitors;
- 1,036 complaints about barristers; and
- 39 complaints about licensed conveyancers.
Around 60% of the firms of solicitors in England and Wales and around 8% of practising barristers were subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman in that time.[2]
As of 2008, the Ombudsman is Zahida Manzoor.
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[edit] Powers
The Ombudsman can:[3]
- Recommend that the professional body re-investigate a complaint;
- Order the re-inestigation;
- Formally criticise the professional body;
- Award compensation for distress or inconvenience.
There is also a power to re-investigate the original complaint but this is only used in exceptional circumstances.
[edit] Reform
When the Legal Services Act 2007 fully comes into force, the Ombudsman will be abolished and replaced with an Office for Legal Complaints to supervise complaints handling.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, ss.21-26/ Sch.3
- ^ Annual Report 2000-2001: Reflecting Progress. Legal Services Ombudsman (2001). Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
- ^ Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, s.23
- ^ Legal Services Act 2007, ss.114-159/ Sch.15
[edit] External link
- Office of the Legal Services Ombudsman. Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
