Friday, 11 November 2016
Recruitment begins for new Office for Legal Complaints Chair
The Legal Services Board is today commencing recruitment for a new Chair of the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC), to take over from Steve Green when he steps down at the end of his term of office on 31 March 2017.
Acknowledging the influential contribution made by Mr Green to the work of the OLC since he took up post on 1 April 2014, Sir Mike Pitt, Chairman of the Legal Services Board said:
“The Office for Legal Complaints plays an invaluable role in making sure consumers of legal services and claims management companies can have confidence in the sector.
Under Steve's leadership, the OLC has worked tirelessly to deliver effective administration of the Legal Ombudsman scheme whilst simultaneously addressing, with rigour, complex legacy issues.
During Steve's time in office, the Legal Ombudsman has taken on a new jurisdiction, which saw access to redress brought to thousands of consumers of claims management companies, and has implemented a number of significant organisation changes to drive down costs.
As Steve steps down, we now need to identify another outstanding individual to lead the OLC and the Legal Ombudsman scheme through the next phase of its development.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact the LSB's Communications Manager, Vincent McGovern (020 7271 0068).
Notes for editors:
- The Legal Services Act 2007 (the Act) requires the Legal Services Board (LSB) to appoint the Chair and Members of the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) [Schedule 15 of the Act].
The appointment of Chair of the OLC requires the approval of the Lord Chancellor and a pre-appointment scrutiny hearing before the Justice Select Committee. - The OLC is responsible for establishing and administering the Legal Ombudsman for England and Wales – the independent and impartial complaints resolution body for the legal sector.
- The OLC Chair must be a lay person.
- Recruitment for a new OLC Chair begins on 11 November 2016 and is being managed by Gatenby Sanderson. Full details can be found at www.gatenbysanderson.com.
- Recruitment for a new non-lay member of the OLC, to fill the vacancy which will arise when Professor Philip Plowden steps down at the end of his first term on 31 March 2017, is expected to commence later in November.
- The Chair is paid an annual fee of £52,500 for at least 60 days per year. Members are paid an annual fee of £10,000 for at least 20 days per year.
- The Act created the LSB as a new regulator with responsibility for overseeing the regulation of legal services in England and Wales. The new regulatory regime became active on 1 January 2010.
- The LSB oversees nine approved regulators, which in turn regulate individual legal practitioners. The approved regulators, designated under Part 1 of Schedule 4 of the 2007 Act, are the Law Society, the Bar Council, the Master of the Faculties, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, the Association of Costs Lawyers and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
In addition, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants are listed as approved regulators in relation only to reserved probate activities. - As at 1 April 2016, the legal profession in England and Wales comprised 145,059 solicitors, 15,288 barristers, 6,848 chartered legal executives and 5,697 other individuals operating in other areas of the legal profession such as conveyancing. The UK legal sector turnover was £32 billion per annum (2015) which is up 23% in cash terms since 2012. For more information see here.