Legal Services Consumer Panel urges Legal Ombudsman to accept cases from ‘third parties’

Legal Services Consumer Panel urges Legal Ombudsman to accept cases from ‘third parties’

The Legal Services Consumer Panel has urged the Legal Ombudsman to accept cases from ‘third parties’, those individuals who are not the lawyer’s client.  
This is part of the Panel’s response to the Consultation by the Legal Ombudsman on its scheme rules.  This includes proposals on third party complaints where there would be a general right for third parties to complain, except in situations where this would impair the proper pursuit and administration of justice.
The paper written by the Panel contains a range of scenarios where there appears to be good grounds for giving third parties the right to redress through the Legal Ombudsman.  These include:
Where legal work is intended to benefit consumers, but they are treated as third parties due to the nature of the contract or business structure, e.g. A remortgage when the legal work is arranged by the lender, and subcontracting arrangements by unregulated businesses
Hounding tactics by lawyers acting on behalf of corporate clients
Bad treatment of victims and witnesses in the criminal justice system
Non-contentious matters where both the client and third party lose out, e.g. a delay in a conveyancing transaction because the seller’s lawyer loses some paperwork causing detriment to the buyer (a third party)
Personal information is compromised due to a data security breach
Beneficiaries when they experience problems due to a defective will
Lawyers working on matters concerning groups of people where the work is arranged by another party on their behalf or in their name, e.g. leaseholders or unsecured creditors
Elisabeth Davies, Chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel commented:
“If you’ve experienced poor legal services and suffered detriment then you should be able to obtain a remedy.  It’s wrong that some consumers cannot currently complain to the Legal Ombudsman due to technicalities which they don’t even know about.  While in some situations the case for giving third parties the right to complain is clear cut, in other circumstances, such as the treatment of victims and witnesses, the arguments are more finely balanced.  The Consumer Panel’s paper aims to stimulate an open debate about where the Legal Ombudsman’s boundaries should properly lie.
“Denying third parties access to redress also creates weak incentives for firms to behave fairly and is a missed opportunity for lawyers to learn from their mistakes.”
Today’s Conveyancer — bringing you the latest conveyancing news and updates  

General News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *