The Legal Ombudsman
The purpose of the Legal Ombudsman is to help resolve disputes between clients and the providers of legal services. Note the word ‘client’. The complaint must relate to the service which the lawyer provided or refused to provide to the client.
What should I bear in mind when making a complaint to the legal ombudsman?
- There needs to be some connection between you and the lawyer you wish to complain about: you need to be the client, ex-client or prospective client of the lawyer concerned.
- You need to have exhausted the complaints procedure of the lawyer concerned.
- You need the lawyer’s final letter to you in the complaints process.
- You have 12 months from the date of the act or omission complained about to complain to the LEO.
- You have 12 months from the date the complainant should have realized there were grounds for a complaint.
- Ordinarily, you need to complain to the LEO within 6 months of receiving the lawyer’s reply to your complaint.
- But, the Ombudsman has the discretion to extend this period where it is “fair and reasonable to do so”
Your complaint will progress faster if you supply the ombudsman with (a) a chronology, (b) an indexed bundle of documents, and (c) the lawyer’s response.
Facts, Law & Documents
Facts: The legal ombudsman is not a court: it cannot resolve a factual dispute: it cannot make findings of fact which binds you or the lawyer concerned if you do not agree those facts. For example, you complain that your barrister failed to attend court, and your barrister says she did, this is a factual dispute. The legal ombudsman cannot decide the issue. In these circumstances, the legal ombudsman would advise you to take advice from a lawyer. You may have to go to court.
Law : The legal ombudsman cannot determine an issue of law. For example, you complain that your barrister failed to apply under S.33 Limitation Act 1980 to disapply the limitation period in which to sue a passenger airline under the Carriage by Air Act 1961. Your barrister says S.33 does not apply. The ombudsman could not decide the issue. You would have to go to court.
Documents: Supply the ombudsman with the documents you rely on; not simply your account. By doing this you allow the ombudsman to understand the issue. A good rule of thumb is to provide:
- A 200 word summary.
- A timeline.
- A statement showing why your interests have been damaged.
- The core documents he needs to read.
The Legal Ombudsman publishers data about the final decisions made by an ombudsman.
This data is updated on a rolling quarterly basis and most decisions will be published in the quarter after the decision was made.
Each decision remains published for 12 months from the date of publication.
You can see a list of the latest decisions on their website at https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/information-centre/data-centre/ombudsman-decision-data/