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The missing piece of the jigsaw

29 October 2009 / Simon Young
Issue: 7391 / Categories: Features , Legal services , Profession
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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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Lawyers’ liability practice strengthened with partner appointment in London

NEWS
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
Lawyers have broadly welcomed plans to electronically tag up to 22,000 more offenders, scrap most prison terms below a year and make prisoners ‘earn’ early release
The ex-wife of a Russian billionaire has won her bid to bring her financial relief claim in London, in a unanimous Court of Appeal decision
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