Similarly, the legal mediator cannot make decisions on negligence, as negligence is a legal concept that must be proven in court. However, it is possible that a bad service that the Ombudsman can investigate may overlap with evidence that a complainant may want to use to argue that his or her lawyer acted negligently. In case of overlap, only the courts have jurisdiction to decide what constitutes negligence. The rules of the legal ombudsman allow him to refuse to investigate cases relating to legal advice or negligence if he believes that they should be better dealt with by the courts or another system. [9] As a general rule, complainants must refer a complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within one year of the act or omission or from the time they reasonably should have known that it occurred. However, it is the Ombudsman`s responsibility to receive complaints outside the time limit in exceptional circumstances. Website – www.legalombudsman.org.uk Tel – 0300 555 0333 E-mail – enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk If your legal service provider made a mistake that caused you financial harm, it may be more appropriate for you to file a professional negligence claim than to file a complaint with the Legal Ombudsman. After examining the complaint and any further inquiries deemed necessary, an ombudsman prepares a final written decision. Only the complainant then has the possibility to accept or reject this decision. If the decision is accepted, it becomes binding on both parties, so that neither party can initiate or continue legal proceedings in relation to the complaint. If the decision is rejected (or is not accepted within the time limit), the complainant is free to bring a civil action for damages, if necessary.
Professional negligence, on the other hand, is usually a mistake made by legal practitioners that results in financial loss or liability and can in turn lead to a civil action for financial compensation. Articles 114 and 115 of the Legal Services Act 2007 established the Office of Legal Complaints and stipulated that it must establish an ombudsman system. The Office of the Legal Counsel appointed the first Chief Ombudsman and acts as the organ of the Legal Ombudsman. The Office of the Legal Counsel reports to both the Commission des services juridiques and the Department of Justice. The current president of the OLC is Elisabeth Davies. [6] Our system rules set the framework for how the Legal Ombudsman resolves complaints about legal services. These are approved by the Legal Services Council and the Lord Chancellor under the Legal Services Act 2007. You can find more information about our organisation and governance in the corporate section of this website.
Our goal is to resolve complaints by agreement. If no agreement can be reached, the investigator will present his or her views in writing. This is called the case decision. If the investigator finds poor service that has negatively impacted the complainant, they can suggest a solution or action you should take. If you or the complainant do not agree with our investigator`s statements, either of you may request an ombudsman`s decision. A final decision may be enforced by the High Court by the complainant or by an ombudsman if the complainant agrees. A court issuing an enforcement order against a solicitor must inform the Lawyers Regulatory Authority. A legal service provider can be anyone who provides a legal service. Not all of them are regulated. Practitioners may feel that the new approach does not look very different from the current approach of the Legal Remedies Service.
However, there are some differences. The new system will deal with all complaints from the public across the legal sector, not just lawyers. As a lay organization, its role is to be an expert in resolving complaints, not an expert in law. As an independent body, it is hoped that the new ombudsman system will be an effective service that will contribute to the credibility of the profession and give clients confidence in the services they receive from lawyers. The new rules will focus on timeliness and informality, with the goal of resolving complaints by agreement rather than quasi-judicial process. If an amicable solution is not possible, one of the eight mediators takes a decision which, once adopted by the complainant, is legally binding on both parties. However, this decision will not be based on precedent or regulation, but on a judgment based on what is fair and appropriate in the circumstances of this case, as required by the Legal Services Act, 2010. Unlike its predecessor organizations, LeO has considerable enforcement powers, which it can exercise both during an investigation and after a decision has been made and accepted.
Exercising these powers can pose a significant threat to your business and to you personally, which is why early advice is essential. During an investigation, we accept complaints if we believe it is a legal service. We do not accept complaints about services that are NOT legal services, such as creating business accounts, or about services they provided prior to the date they became an authorized person. All ombudsmen work in areas where it may seem harder for people to have their voices heard and harder for the public to get justice when things go wrong. Before lodging a complaint with the Legal Ombudsman, a complainant should normally (i) lodge a formal complaint with the relevant legal service provider; and (ii) gave that provider 8 weeks to resolve the complaint. All our calls are recorded, including calls you make to us and calls to you and other people and organizations.