Annual report published

In July we published our Annual Report and Accounts for 2017-18.

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) accepted 7,527 legal complaints in the 2017-18 financial year. This rose from 7,223 in the previous year - with residential conveyancing, personal injury, family law, wills and probate, and litigation the most complained about areas of law.

In the claims management company jurisdiction, there were 1,212 complaints accepted, the majority of which related to financial products and services such as mis-sold payment protection insurance.

Wanda Goldwag, Chair of the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) Board, said: “This has been an important year where we have laid the foundations for the future of the Legal Ombudsman. I look forward to working with the Legal Ombudsman team to use these changes to improve quality, delivery and performance.”

The report highlights that 2017-18 was a year of achievements and challenge. Successful implementation of the new cloud-based IT and telephony infrastructure, streamlined business processes and a flexible staffing model will now enable steady performance improvement in 2018-19.

Read the full Annual Report and Accounts 2017-18 here.

New courses for the year

We have some new courses available this year and more on the way so keep an eye on our ‘upcoming courses’ page to register your interest:
http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/raising-standards/#professional-learning-courses

Signposting customers to LeO

We have refreshed our signposting guidance to support legal service providers in referring their customers to LeO. Read more about this in our Under the Spotlight section.

New guidance on our approach to dealing with cybercrime

Cybercrime is now one of the most prevalent types of crime in the UK and because of the amount of money and sensitive information lawyers handle, they are an obvious target.

This guidance sets out what we expect from service providers to avoid being a victim of cybercrime and how service providers should handle complaints about cybercrime.

Pride Power List 2018

The Chair of the OLC has been named for a second year running in the top 100 most influential lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) public figures.

Wanda Goldwag, who in April 2017 became chair of the OLC – the board that oversees the LeO scheme – was praised in the Pride Power List 2018 for her career and also her lifetime commitment to furthering the rights of the LGBT community.

Wanda said, “Once again it is an honour to be named in such a prestigious line-up of LGBT+ influencers. My latest work at the Legal Ombudsman includes developing new Equality Priority Objectives, making diversity work in the real world for ordinary people, both those who use our service and our staff. We strive towards creating an environment where talented people realise their full potential, regardless of background.”