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29 October 2009 / Simon Young
Issue: 7391 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Profession
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The missing piece of the jigsaw

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Simon Young turns his attention to complaints in his final article on the impact of the Legal Services Act

Previous articles in this series have looked at the impact of the Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA 2007) in terms of its overall effect; the idea of legal disciplinary practices, which came into being in April 2009; and the concept of alternative business structures, which are expected to be available from mid-2011. This, the final article in the series, looks at the way the Act deals with the problem of complaints.

The Act creates a new body, known as the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC). It is established by Pts six and seven of, and Sch 15 to, LSA 2007. It is responsible firstly to the other major creature of LSA 2007, the Legal Services Board (LSB), and ultimately to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

It will take the place of the current Legal Complaints Service (LCS) (part of the Law Society group and so ultimately still controlled by the profession),

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