Legal Ombudsman
Lawyers condemn LeO’s “totally unacceptable” budget demand
The Bar Council has launched an outspoken attack on a planned 20% rise in the budget of the Legal Ombudsman. The Law Society also strongly opposed the move.
Lawyers hit back at complaint publication plans
The Law Society and Bar Council have strongly attacked plans by the Legal Ombudsman to extend its publication of information about complaints, arguing that it would not help consumers.
LeO asks for another £2.4m to “eliminate” waiting time
The Legal Ombudsman is seeking to increase its budget by 20% in the next financial year to “radically” improve the time it takes to deal with complaints and “eliminate all unnecessary waiting time”.
Revealed: LeO ditches mediation initiative
The Legal Ombudsman has ditched plans to introduce mediation as another route to settling dispute between lawyers and their clients after a trial found limited interest.
“Turn-around” specialist sought to head Legal Ombudsman
The Legal Services Board is looking for a person with experience of “turn-around situations” to become the new chair of the Office of Legal Complaints, the board which oversees the Legal Ombudsman.
LeO wants to publish complaints decisions in full
The Legal Ombudsman could start publishing its full decisions, as well as annual reviews of the most complained-about lawyers and firms, to improve the quality of information it makes available.
Sharp rise in complaints about Legal Ombudsman’s service
There has been a sharp rise in the number of complaints made about the Legal Ombudsman, its service complaint adjudicator has reported – and it is not clear why.
Legal Ombudsman pilots use of formal mediation
The Legal Ombudsman is running a ‘proof of concept’ pilot as it decides whether to introduce formal mediation as another route to settling dispute between lawyers and their clients.
Barrister who obeyed LeO two hours before tribunal spared suspension
A barrister who complied with an order from the Legal Ombudsman to pay compensation to a client only two hours before appearing at a Bar disciplinary tribunal has been fined £2,000.
LeO upholds more complaints of poor service by lawyers
The Legal Ombudsman was more likely to make a finding of poor service against a lawyer than not in 2018/19, reversing the trend of previous years, its annual report has shown.
Blog
What high-performing consumer claims firms get right
Recurring concerns about parts of the volume claims sector show that the gap between well-run firms and those struggling to manage volume effectively is widening.
The SRA’s 2025 AML report: What law firms need to know
The SRA has released its 2024-25 anti-money laundering report and the scale of supervision is striking – it carried out 935 proactive engagements in the year to 5 April 2025.
The managing partner in 2026: skills, security and strategic technology
The legal sector stands at a pivotal moment. The pace of technological change is accelerating, cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, and client expectations are higher than ever.
