About the Legal Services Ombudsman

If you make a complaint about a lawyer, the Ombudsman will investigate the way that your complaint was dealt with by the lawyer's own professional body.

Who is the Legal Services Ombudsman and what does she do?

Zahida Manzoor CBE is the Legal Services Ombudsman for England and Wales. She is independent of the legal profession and a non lawyer. She derives her powers from the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. In creating the role of Ombudsman, it was Parliament’s intention to protect the interests of the consumers of legal services – clients, and members of the public. She does this by ensuring that the professional bodies conduct fair, thorough and efficient investigations of complaints about their members.

When the Ombudsman reviews the way that a professional body has handled a complaint, she will consider whether:

the investigation was thorough, and fair;
all the relevant facts were taken into account;
the conclusions reached were reasonable, and properly explained;
the investigation was handled efficiently, without unnecessary delay;
the outcome was appropriate (for example, the lawyer may have been disciplined, or you might have been awarded compensation).

Who deals with my complaint about a lawyer?

Wherever we have used the term 'lawyer' it means any of the legal professionals listed below. Each branch of the legal profession has its own professional body responsible for setting its standards of conduct and service. These professional bodies are also responsible for investigating complaints.

If you want to complain about a:

Solicitor - contact The Legal Complaints Service (LCS) formerly known as the Consumer Complaints Services;
Barrister - contact The Bar Standards Board (BSB);
Licensed Conveyancer - contact The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC);
Legal Executive - contact The Institute of Legal Executives (ILEX);
Patent Attorney - contact The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys (CIPA);
Trade Mark Attorney - contact The Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys (ITMA).

Click here for contact details of the Professional Bodies

These professional bodies must deal with complaints properly. They should carry out a detailed, unbiased investigation, within a reasonable time. They must take into consideration the views of everyone involved, and then make a reasonable decision based on all the available information.

What will the Ombudsman do if she decides that the professional body did not deal effectively with your complaint?

The Ombudsman might decide that the professional body’s handling of your complaint was satisfactory. However, if she takes the view that there were shortcomings in the professional body’s investigation, she will either:

recommend that they re-investigate some, or all, aspects of the complaint;
formally criticise the professional body;
award you compensation for any distress or inconvenience the professional body may have caused you.

The Ombudsman also has the power to investigate the original complaint about the lawyer. She will only do so in exceptional circumstances. For further information, please refer to the Frequently asked Questions section on this website.

Are there any complaints about lawyers that the Ombudsman doesn’t deal with?

The Ombudsman does not have the power to investigate something that has been decided by a court or lawyer’s disciplinary tribunal. Nor will she consider complaints if:

more than 3 months have passed since the professional body completed their investigation (unless there are exceptional circumstances which prevented you from applying in time);
you have not yet complained to the relevant professional body;
you are a lawyer complaining about another lawyer (unless you are acting on behalf of a client);
you are in an employment dispute with the lawyer; or
you are involved in a contractual dispute with the lawyer (for example, over non-payment of professional fees).

How will the Ombudsman deal with my complaint?

Once you have sent us the details of your complaint about the professional body, we will ask them to send us their file. This usually contains all the information necessary for the Ombudsman to reach a view on your complaint. Sometimes, an Investigating Officer will contact you for more information. You can contact us at any time if you have any further information which you would like the Ombudsman to consider. However, as the Ombudsman’s investigation is focused on the facts available to the professional body at the time of their investigation, it is not usually necessary for her to consider any new information.

Once your complaint has been investigated the Ombudsman will send you a report containing her conclusions. She aims to do so within six months of receipt of the professional body’s file. We will send a copy of the Ombudsman’s final report to you, to the lawyer you complained about and to the professional body.

You can complete your application on-line by clicking here

What if I don’t agree with the Ombudsman’s decision?

The Ombudsman’s report is final and there is no appeal against it.

To see our leaflet in full explaining what we do click here