A story of confidence
In the four years since I became Chair of the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC), the OLC Board has overseen a long, challenging journey by the Legal Ombudsman (LeO). Building on the substantial progress LeO has made, the annual report we’ve published today once again shows a clear improvement trajectory.
However, words and numbers on a page can’t tell the full story. More than anything, LeO’s journey has been one of growing confidence – something that’s felt rather than seen.
First, we saw restored confidence that LeO recognised the need for change. Then, confidence also that LeO was listening to feedback, and open to all options, about what that change could look like. After that, confidence that the changes were making a difference. And ultimately, confidence that LeO can do the job it was set up to do: helping people to resolve complaints about legal providers, often at life-changing times.
As has been the case throughout this journey, neither the OLC nor LeO have been complacent about the nature and scale of the task. That’s why the OLC committed to maintaining a laser-like focus on getting LeO to a level of performance and customer experience that is both acceptable and sustainable in the long run.
At the end of 2023/24, users and providers of legal services relying on LeO’s help are having a substantially better experience. The transformation LeO has made in its ways of working have been sustained: in more than half of cases, the parties involved are able to get an early resolution to their complaint, without needing to wait for a full investigation.
The credit for this goes, as ever, to LeO’s people, who can be rightly proud of the unstinting customer focus, determination and flexibility they’ve shown in making and sustaining this step-change.
And they’ve done so in a year that has been far from straightforward. LeO continued to face a number of headwinds – which mean, despite such clear progress, waiting times for those whose complaints do need investigating are higher than anticipated or is acceptable.
As the report sets out, these headwinds are not all within LeO’s control. However, the way in which LeO responded to them speaks to the evolution and improvement of its approach to managing risks and resources. The OLC Board has continued to actively challenge and seek assurance on LeO’s plans – always with a view to balancing confidence with realism.
At the same time as LeO has faced these challenges, more people have been contacting it for help with concerns and complaints about legal services. While there are undoubtedly many in the sector focused on good practice and improvement, LeO’s most recent annual data doesn’t tell a positive story about standards of service or complaints handling.
This takes me back to confidence. A few short years ago, my conversations with LeO stakeholders were almost exclusively focused on LeO’s own performance. It’s testament to how far LeO has come that, as the OLC looked this year to develop a new three-year strategy, our conversations reflected genuine ambitions for LeO on the part of our stakeholders.
There’s so much to be proud of in this annual report, and so much to be excited about in the future.
Elisabeth DaviesChair of the OLC Board
