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26 November 2021 / Veronica Cowan
Issue: 7958 / Categories: Features , Profession
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What the Ombudsman says

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Veronica Cowan talks to the Chief Legal Ombudsman, Paul McFadden, about his plans to drive recovery & change
  • Speeding up case handling and reducing backlog.
  • The attraction of an informal solution-based approach.

The Legal Ombudsman Service, which is funded by its members (service suppliers), deals with about 7,000 disputes each year, between regulated legal firms and claims management companies and their clients. If attempts by the parties to resolve the dispute fail, the service provider must inform the client about the complaints process.

There are a number of Ombudsmen, headed by the Chief Ombudsman, Paul McFadden, who was appointed in January 2021 from the public sector, where his roles included being Deputy Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, and its Judicial Appointments Ombudsman; helping establish Scotland’s first independent Police Complaints Commission and the UK’s Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. As the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, he headed its Complaints Standards Authority, implementing a streamlined and improved complaints-handling framework, and culture across Scotland’s public bodies.

Having previously worked in the public sector

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