Legal Ombudsman

The board of the Legal Ombudsman has put off until spring 2012 the decision on whether to name law firms on the receiving end of complaints, a move condemned by the Legal Services Consumer Panel.

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has identified its first vexatious complainant, it emerged last night – but it is a lawyer, not a member of the public. It has also appointed former Financial Services Ombudsman Walter Merricks to adjudicate on complaints over LeO’s own service.

The Cabinet Office has refused to confirm whether it is going ahead with shutting down the websites of the Legal Services Board, Legal Ombudsman and Legal Services Consumer Panel after a strong attack in the House of Lords last night that claimed it threatens the independence of the legal profession.

The Legal Ombudsman has criticised changes to the minimum terms and conditions for solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance that were approved by its parent Legal Services Board just last year.

Consumers believe that a lawyer who has provided a bad service should be “named and shamed”, research released today has found. However, there are signs that consumers are likely to use published information “in a way that may be at odds with the Legal Ombudsman’s reasons for publication”.

Implementation of the Jackson reforms could have an impact on the number of complaints against solicitors, the Legal Ombudsman has told the government. It said ending recoverability could cause consumers “to take more of an interest in their lawyers’ fees”.

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) is to show its claws for the first time by seeking a court order to force a solicitor to provide access to documents, it has emerged. It will be the first use of LeO’s powers under the Legal Services Act.

The outgoing Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO), Zahida Manzoor, is to hand over an estimated 600 cases awaiting investigation when her office closes at the beginning of next month, far more than previously thought.

There are concerns about the outstanding level of complaints at the outgoing Legal Services Ombudsman, Legal Futures has learned. Zahida Manzoor’s personal contract comes to an end on 2 March, and her office in Manchester will close on 31 March, with a number of cases likely to be outstanding – although Ms Manzoor says her office has been performing to a high standard in difficult circumstances.

In an embarrassing last-minute u-turn, government lawyers have blocked bodies including the Judicial Appointments Commission, QC Appointments and Legal Services Commission from receiving sensitive data on complaints against lawyers, Legal Futures has discovered.

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has passed a complaint to the Criminal Cases Review Commission after a solicitor and a barrister’s errors potentially led to a man’s conviction for theft, in one of 365 cases that the service has informally resolved so far, it has emerged.

The Office of Fair Trading and the Legal Services Commission have joined a host of consumer groups in calling on the Legal Ombudsman to name lawyers over complaints, with the commission saying it has a “right” to such information. The profession is united in opposition to the idea, with one law firm saying it is “rare” for a client to have a justifiable complaint.

The three main professional bodies have all set out their stalls against lawyers being “named and shamed” if found guilty by the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) of providing an inadequate service. The Bar Council has this week joined the Law Society and Institute of Legal Executives in criticising the idea.

The Legal Ombudsman service has issued its first formal decision, it has emerged. The first case to go all the way through to a final decision by an ombudsman concerned a complaint over delay and whether the costs were explained clearly.

Lawyers have warned the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) that some clients will end up unrepresented if he adopts a complaints process that involves ‘naming and shaming’. Fear of reputational damage would have a chilling effect on taking on clients perceived to be ‘risky’ and adversely impact on lawyers whose social conscience led them to offer help, they said.