Legal Services Board—Rachel Cerfontyne & Patricia Tueje

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has announced the appointments of Rachel Cerfontyne as a new lay member and Patricia Tueje (pictured) as a non-lay member of the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC).

The OLC is the Board of the Legal Ombudsman, and the LSB has made these appointments in accordance with the Legal Services Act 2007.

Rachel was previously the Executive Chair of the Heathrow Community Engagement Board and Deputy Chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission. She has been appointed for a four-year term from 1 March 2023 to 30 April 2027.

Patricia is a housing barrister based at One Pump Court Chambers, where she is a Director and Secretary of the chambers' executive committee. She has been appointed for a three-year term from 1 March 2023 to 30 April 2026.

Elisabeth Bellamy (non-lay member) and Annette Lovell (lay member) will step down from the OLC on 28 February 2023, both having served two terms.

Commenting on the appointments, Dr Helen Phillips, Chair of the Legal Services Board, said: 'I am delighted to congratulate Rachel and Patricia on their appointments. With their wealth of experience and dedication to public service, they will make valuable contributions to the important work of the Office for Legal Complaints for the profession and the public.

'I would also like to thank the outgoing members Annette Lovell and Elizabeth Bellamy for their contribution to the Legal Ombudsman.'

Elisabeth Davies, Chair of the Office for Legal Complaints: 'Both Rachel and Patricia are joining the OLC at such an important time, as we continue to focus on the needs of the LeO customer and build on, and sustain, the substantial improvements that LeO has delivered over the last two years. I am confident that with their complainant and service provider commitments they'll enable us to do just this - building on the valuable contributions made by Annette Lovell and Elizabeth Bellamy.'

Rachel Cerfontyne said: 'I am very pleased to be joining the Office for Legal Complaints and hope my previous experience enables me to play my part effectively in this important organisation.'

Patricia Tueje said: 'I'm looking forward to contributing to the Office for Legal Complaint's important work in ensuring good standards for legal consumers.'

Biographies

Rachel Cerfontyne: Rachel has just completed her term as the Executive Chair of the Heathrow Community Engagement Board (2018-2022). She was Deputy Chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) from 2013 to 2018 and a Commissioner of the IPCC from 2009 to 2013. Her executive career included time at Barrow Cadbury Trust (Development Director), HMCTS (Senior Civil Servant), and earlier at Hertfordshire Police Authority (Clerk).

Patricia Tueje: Called in 1999, Patricia is a housing barrister based at One Pump Court Chambers, where she is a Director and Secretary of the chambers' executive committee. She specialises in all aspects of housing, property and related public law. Patricia has recently been appointed as a fee-paid judge of the First Tier Property Tribunal (Property Chamber). Since March 2022, she has been Co-Chair of the Housing Law Practitioners' Association. She is also a Member of the Bar Council's Bar Race Training Delivery Panel. Before qualifying as a barrister, Patricia worked as a Housing Adviser at the London Borough of Sutton and Shelter.