JUDICIAL REVIEW THREAT: concern at ombudsman's appointment as commissioner

The government has paved the way for conflicts of interest and judicial review actions from solicitors by appointing the same person to oversee legal services complaints while wearing two different hats, a leading professional liability solicitor suggested this week.

Julian Aylmer, a partner at London-based law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, spoke out following the recent announcement from the Lord Chancellor that the post of Legal Services Complaints Commissioner (LSCC) would be filled by Zahida Manzoor, who is also the Legal Services Ombudsman (see [2003] Gazette, 2 October ,1).

As ombudsman, Ms Manzoor investigates how complaints are dealt with by professional bodies including the Law Society and Bar Council.

The new LSCC role will mean setting targets, making recommendations, requiring bodies to file plans where their performance is inadequate and imposing fines.

But Mr Aylmer suggested that Lord Falconer had made a 'premature' decision to appoint an LSCC before the results of the Clementi review on regulation and a second review by Sir Stephen Lander, the Law Society's independent commissioner on complaints handling.

He said it did not appear to be 'a good permanent solution' and did not rule out the possibility of judicial review cases being brought by solicitors who considered that Ms Manzoor was wearing 'two contradictory hats'.

He warned: 'It is not hard to imagine a situation arising where an ombudsman might need to second guess the LSCC and their oversight of how complaints have been policed.'

A spokeswoman for the Department for Constitutional Affairs said: 'The roles of the ombudsman and the LSCC are separate.

The ombudsman is concerned with individuals' complaints across the sector, and the LSCC will be overseeing the complaints procedures of the Law Society.'

Ms Manzoor said she had nothing to add at this stage.

Paula Rohan