Legal Ombudsman
Lawyers face £1.4m bill after government confirms end to ‘free’ ombudsman cases
Thousands of law firms are set to contribute £1.4m to the Legal Ombudsman after the government confirmed that they will no longer be eligible for two ‘free’ complaints every year. Meanwhile, LeO has not ruled out entertaining complaints by third parties, such as against the opposing party’s lawyer.
Exclusive: ombudsman decides against allowing third parties to complain about lawyers
The Legal Ombudsman will not allow third parties to bring complaints against lawyers for the time being, Legal Futures has learned. However, it will in future accept complaints from prospective clients, while the limit for compensation will rise from £30,000 to £50,000
Regulators urged to help “scared” consumers make complaints to their lawyers
Regulators need to take urgent action to improve the way lawyers handle complaints after a “hard-hitting” new report highlighted multiple failings. However, although clients are often scared to complain, a positive experience when they do can actually make them likely to recommend the provider.
Extending LeO’s jurisdiction to claims managers may make things worse, Law Society warns
The problems claims management companies cause consumers will not be solved by giving the Legal Ombudsman jurisdiction over them – and may even be exacerbated, the Law Society has warned.
LeO finally names firms – and majority were found to have acted properly
The names of 772 law firms which have been the subject of a formal decision by the Legal Ombudsman were published today – but an analysis by this website shows the ombudsman was happy with the law firm’s actions in more than half of the cases made public.
Legal Ombudsman to accept complaints about claims management companies
Claims management companies (CMCs) face the prospect of having to provide financial compensation to unhappy customers after the government announced today that they are to come within the remit of the Legal Ombudsman.
Ombudsman: complaints publication will be “imperfect” but it is not naming and shaming
The publication of complaints data will be “imperfect”, the Chief Legal Ombudsman has admitted, but it is better than publishing nothing at all and is emphatically not about naming and shaming lawyers.
Hundreds of firms given preview of complaints data to be published by LeO
Hundreds of law firms have been sent details of the complaints information that the Legal Ombudsman is set to publish about them, Legal Futures has learned. However, it is still not clear when it will actually be published, after the July target was missed.
Ombudsman prepares for ABS role – and publishing complaints data on 700 firms
The changing legal market brings with it “more potential for confusion” among consumers, justice minister Jonathan Djanogly acknowledged last week, making the role of the Legal Ombudsman even more important in future.
Complex legal products risk the law’s own mis-selling scandal, ombudsman warns
The Chief Legal Ombudsman today warned of the risk of a payment protection insurance-type scandal engulfing the legal profession after collecting evidence of clients being sold complex and confusing legal products that they often struggled to understand.
Blog
Five key issues to consider when adopting an AI-based legal tech
As generative AI starts to play a bigger role in our working lives, there are some key issues that your law firm needs to consider when adopting an AI-based legal tech.
Bulk litigation – not always working in consumers interests
For consumers to get the benefit, bulk litigation needs to be done well, and we are increasingly concerned that there are significant problems in some areas of this market.
ABSs, cost and audits – fixing regulation after Axiom Ince
A feature of law firm collapses and frauds has sometimes been the over-concentration of power in outdated and overburdened systems of control.
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