What is the Legal Ombudsman?
For those who don’t know who we are or what we do, we are the Ombudsman, the independent and impartial complaints handling body, for all legal services in England and Wales. We are established under the Legal Services Act 2007 (the Act) – and governed by the Act and a set of Scheme Rules. We consider complaints about the service provided by an authorised person, including solicitors and barristers, to a complainant.
We’re not a regulator, so we won’t consider whether a practitioner has breached their regulatory rules. As an Ombudsman, our role is to look at the service they provided and, if appropriate, direct them to put things right. We aim to resolve complaints as informally as possible. However, if necessary, an Ombudsman can make a final decision, which is...