Improving today's services and tomorrow's industry reputation

People at the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) care about what they do.
As the new interim chief ombudsman, I have been impressed by the work I have seen and the dedication of
the people I have met. They recognise that the way they conduct investigations, the resolutions they facilitate, and the manner in which they
deal with customers has
a real impact on people’s
lives. They are committed to
making a positive difference.
And every day, they do.

The role of LeO is twofold.
We offer an independent, impartial scheme for complaints from consumers of regulated legal services – a safety net for when things go wrong. And, in parallel, we support the lawyers in our jurisdiction in their own efforts to improve standards across the sector, for example by championing best practice and sharing knowledge and learning.

As an independent complaints service, we cannot always please everyone. But our contribution to the resolution of consumer complaints since we opened our doors in 2010 has been considerable. Last year,
we were contacted by almost 70,000 consumers, and received over 60,000 visits to our website. We resolved more than 8,000 cases, with 39 per cent of these being brought to a swift and mutually agreed resolution without the need for a formal ombudsman decision. Lawyers and consumers both tell us that they value this service: in 2013-14, lawyer satisfaction was 86 per cent.

Our experience of resolving complaints also gives us a unique insight into the sector. We believe in the power of data to inform and improve, and we regularly share the knowledge we gather from the complaints that come to us.

For example, we set out in our annual report how residential conveyancing accounted for
20 per cent of all complaints resolved by our service last year, increasing in line with property transactions; that family law complaints are now 17 per cent of our work; and that wills and probate remained the third highest source of complaints at 13 per cent. We also explained that the main causes of complaint are failures to follow instructions, failures to advise, and excessive costs or inadequate costs information.

More information about who complained to us, about what, and how the complaints were resolved, along with a range
of good practice guides, is available on our website. But
we want to do more.

Responses to our recent strategic plan consultation told us that the legal sector is keen to receive more data from us, more often. One of my priorities now, drawing on more than a decade’s experience in complaints resolution, is to develop LeO’s insight and analytical capabilities, so that the positive difference people make here extends beyond individual cases to improving today’s services and tomorrow’s industry reputation. SJ

Kathryn King is interim chief ombudsman at the Legal Ombudsman

@Legal_Ombudsman