Legal Ombudsman Information

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) resolves complaints about providers of legal services that haven’t been resolved to customers’ satisfaction – as quickly and informally as possible. LeO covers the majority of legal services provided in England and Wales. The rules and limits about what complaints LeO can help with are set out on LeO’s website. The second vital part of LeO’s work is sharing learning and insight from the complaints it sees. This promotes better complaint handling, prevents future complaints and helps drive higher standards in legal services. The Legal Services Act 2007 (the Act) established the Legal Ombudsman scheme and the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) to administer it. The Act also established the Legal Services Board (LSB) to oversee the regulation of the legal profession in England and Wales. Both the OLC and the LSB are Arm’s Length Bodies of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). LeO’s work supports and aligns with the regulatory objectives. Read our 2024-27 strategy at https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/who-we-are/corporate-publications/olc-strategy-2024-27/