Paraskeva: OSS can repair image

The Law Society this week expressed confidence that it will be able to avoid the threat of outside regulation by improving its complaints handling, despite calls from politicians for the speedy appointment of an independent legal services complaints commissioner.

The Society spoke out following a hearing of the select committee overseeing the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) last week, where MPs expressed concern to DCA permanent secretary Sir Hayden Phillips that the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors (OSS) is still failing clients.

Labour MP Clive Soley questioned whether it was 'time for [the Society] to let go and for us to look at a more statutory system for regulating solicitors'.

Sir Hayden said the DCA would be reviewing the role of the OSS but added that this would take some time, prompting committee members to ask whether the Lord Chancellor should use his powers in the interim to appoint a commissioner, who would be able to fine the Society over poor performance.

Sir Hayden said the Society's performance on complaints handling needed to be 'improved, and improved quickly' as it focused too much on processes rather than on clients.

The appointment of a commissioner 'might be necessary', he said.

The committee's fears follow on from the annual report of the Legal Services Ombudsman, Zahida Manzoor, in which she pointed out the 'significant progress' at the OSS that she had expected had failed to materialise (see [2003] Gazette, 10 July, 3).

Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said Ms Manzoor had recognised that the Society's performance improved last year, though she said there was still some way to go.

'[Her] report makes it clear that she will provide a further report in the autumn, when she will advise the Lord Chancellor whether or not to exercise his powers to appoint a commissioner,' she added.

'We are confident that we will by then be able to demonstrate that the changes we are making will raise the performance of consumer complaint handling to meet the expectations of the public.'

Paula Rohan