In England and Wales, the Legal Services Ombudsman was a statutory officer that investigated allegations about the improper, ineffective or inefficient way that complaints about lawyers are handled by their respective self-regulating professional bodies. The Ombudsman is appointed by, and is answerable to, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice.[1] It has been abolished under the Legal Services Act 2007
The first Ombudsman was appointed to start work on 2 January 1991. During the first decade of operation, the office undertook 10,531 investigations:
Around 60% of the firms of solicitors in England and Wales and around 8% of practising barristers were subject of a complaint to the Ombudsman in that time.[2]