Legal Ombudsman

Only 4% of complaints about claims management companies (CMCs) received by the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) relate to personal injury work, it has emerged, in the first release of figures since Leo began its new role.

More than a quarter (26%) of complaints to the Legal Ombudsman are triggered by lack of clarity on fees, a major internal survey has found. Family law has emerged as the biggest offender, followed by wills and litigation.

The legal profession is set to pay less than ever for the Legal Ombudsman in the coming year, although the organisation has warned that the recent furore over its employee benefits scheme has increased the risk of extra costs arising from higher staff turnover.

Jenner & Block has not become the first US law firm licensed as an alternative business structure, it has emerged – rather it was an error by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Plus, call for QC to be open for all, and new members of LeO’s board.

The six-month time limit for clients to complain to the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) is to be doubled from this summer, it has announced. The new time limit, which takes effect from 9 July, runs from the date of receiving a final response from the lawyer.

Many lawyers, particularly solicitors and barristers, complain about their practising certificate (PC) fees, but there are high levels of ignorance about what they are paying for, a major cost of regulation survey has found.

The Law Society has told the Legal Ombudsman that solicitors’ practising certificate fees should not be used for ‘thought leadership’ exercises that extend beyond legal services.

The Legal Ombudsman has received just under 1,000 consumer ‘contacts’ about claims management companies in its first three weeks of complaints handling, it has emerged.

The Ministry of Justice has announced huge increases in the regulation fees paid by claims management companies. The MoJ said that despite the drop in the number of firms, regulation could not be similarly scaled back.

The Ministry of Justice has declared more than £1.2m of payments made to staff at the Legal Ombudsman in the years since it was established to be “irregular”.

Conveyancers have usurped family lawyers as the main cause of complaints to the Legal Ombudsman, its annual report has revealed. But it also urged lawyers to think twice before pushing for formal decisions rather than accepting informal resolutions to complaints.

The Legal Ombudsman has recruited a team of 30 to deal with the thousands of complaints about claims management companies it will receive from today, it has emerged.

Law firms should issue two separate retainers to clients where they are provided with consumer credit as well as purely legal services, the Legal Ombudsman has suggested.

There is scope for the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) to offer redress to third parties, as long as the complaints involved could be “clearly and tightly defined”, a report by a LeO working party has found.

The first lawyer to be ‘named and shamed’ by the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) for a series of complaints has argued that he is only “trying to adapt to new market forces”.