The OLC Board today announces that Paul McFadden will be leaving the Legal Ombudsman as its Chief Ombudsman in October 2025 to become the next Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, on the nomination of the Scottish Parliament.
Paul joined LeO in January 2021, and has led the organisation through a significant transformation in its service.
Commenting on Paul's departure, Elisabeth Davies, OLC Chair, said:
"Paul has made such a difference to the lives of many through his leadership of LeO. By the time he leaves he will have been at LeO not far off five years – five years that have seen us successfully transform the ways of working and culture at the Legal Ombudsman, restore confidence and trust and, crucially, improve the service provided to LeO’s customers.
“But he leaves behind not an ounce of complacency as we recognise there is more we want to achieve, not least in terms of sharing more learning and insight with the sector and as we collectively work to improve the quality of first-tier complaint handling. It says so much about LeO’s progress and stability that Paul is able to think about leaving at this point, and his dedication to LeO over the next six months could not be clearer or stronger.
“I am set to recruit an Interim Chief Ombudsman and aim to have somebody in place by the time Paul leaves. I will be recruiting an Interim Chief Ombudsman so that the new Chair of the OLC has as many options open to them as possible, given that my own second term is due to come to an end in 2026.”
Paul McFadden, Chief Ombudsman, said:
“It has been a privilege to lead the Legal Ombudsman through this period of real transformational change.
“We have improved so much at LeO to address significant challenges, restore confidence and trust in our service, and give more visibility to LeO’s learning and insight. This has only been achieved through the hard work, skill and determination of LeO’s people, who have always impressed and who have my sincere gratitude for their commitment through this period.
“LeO is in a very different place and in a strong position to build on its success. I will be working hard over the next six months to deliver for LeO and its customers and to ensure everything is in place to help LeO continue to succeed.”
