Legal Services Complaints Commissioner
Encyclopedia
In England and Wales
, the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner is a statutory
office that regulates solicitor
s, but not barrister
s. A Commissioner can be appointed by, and is answerable to, the Lord Chancellor
and Secretary of State for Justice.
stated to the House of Commons:
In September 2003, Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer
, criticised the Law Society
, the governing body of solicitors, saying:
As a result, the Lord Chancellor exercised his powers under the Act to appoint Zahida Manzoor
as Commissioner in February 2004. The Commissioner's powers as to the Law Society were to:
If the Law Society failed to submit a plan or adequately handle complaints, the Commissioner could impose a penalty of up to £1 million, or 1% of the Society's annual income if that is less.
In 2005, the Law Society divided its functions among the Society, the Solicitors Regulation Authority
and the Legal Complaints Service
but by May 2006, the Society's efforts to remedy its own deficiencies were still giving concern to the Commissioner. As a result, a penalty of £220,000 was levied. The Commissioner subsequently recognised that progress was being made and in April 2007, advised the Society that their Complaints Handling Plan adequately addressed the concerns. However, in April 2008, the Commissioner reported that "Results show that despite some improvements in all target areas set, there are still
failures ... to consistently apply their policies, processes and customer standards." On 3 June 2008, the Commissioner fined the Law Society £275,000 over the inadequacy of its complaints handling plan for the forthcoming year.
has fully comes into force, the Commissioner role has been abolished. The Office for Legal Complaints now runs the Legal Ombudsman scheme; which will supervise the complaints handling of solicitors, barristers and other legal professionals.
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
, the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner is a statutory
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
office that regulates solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
s, but not barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
s. A Commissioner can be appointed by, and is answerable to, the Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
and Secretary of State for Justice.
History
When the Access to Justice Act 1999 came into force, government minister Keith VazKeith Vaz
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, known as Keith Vaz, was born 26 November 1956 in Aden, Yemen.Keith Vaz is a British Labour Party politician and a Member of Parliament for Leicester East, He is the longest serving Asian MP and has been the Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee since July...
stated to the House of Commons:
In September 2003, Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer
Charles Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton
Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, PC is a British Labour politician, who became the Lord Chancellor and the first Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs in 2003...
, criticised the Law Society
Law society
A Law Society in current and former Commonwealth jurisdictions was historically an association of solicitors with a regulatory role that included the right to supervise the training, qualifications and conduct of lawyers/solicitors...
, the governing body of solicitors, saying:
As a result, the Lord Chancellor exercised his powers under the Act to appoint Zahida Manzoor
Zahida Manzoor
Zahida Parveen Manzoor CBE is an English businessperson and public appointee, who , became the Legal Services Ombudsman. She held this position until 2010, when the Office was abolished under legislation in the Legal Services Act 2007....
as Commissioner in February 2004. The Commissioner's powers as to the Law Society were to:
- Require them to report on their handling of complaints about solicitors;
- Investigate the handling of complaints;
- Make recommendations;
- Set targets;
- Require the Law Society to submit a plan for the handling of complaints.
If the Law Society failed to submit a plan or adequately handle complaints, the Commissioner could impose a penalty of up to £1 million, or 1% of the Society's annual income if that is less.
In 2005, the Law Society divided its functions among the Society, the Solicitors Regulation Authority
Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Solicitors Regulation Authority was launched on 29 January 2007. It is the regulatory body for more than 120,000 solicitors in England and Wales...
and the Legal Complaints Service
Legal Complaints Service
In England and Wales, the Legal Complaints Service is a body that formally investigates complaints about solicitors. It is, in its turn, regulated by the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner.-Background:...
but by May 2006, the Society's efforts to remedy its own deficiencies were still giving concern to the Commissioner. As a result, a penalty of £220,000 was levied. The Commissioner subsequently recognised that progress was being made and in April 2007, advised the Society that their Complaints Handling Plan adequately addressed the concerns. However, in April 2008, the Commissioner reported that "Results show that despite some improvements in all target areas set, there are still
failures ... to consistently apply their policies, processes and customer standards." On 3 June 2008, the Commissioner fined the Law Society £275,000 over the inadequacy of its complaints handling plan for the forthcoming year.
Reform
Now that the Legal Services Act 2007Legal Services Act 2007
The Legal Services Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that seeks to liberalise and regulate the market for legal services in England and Wales, to encourage more competition and to provide a new route for consumer complaints...
has fully comes into force, the Commissioner role has been abolished. The Office for Legal Complaints now runs the Legal Ombudsman scheme; which will supervise the complaints handling of solicitors, barristers and other legal professionals.