Solicitor ombudsman Berg steps up bureaucracy fight

COMPLAINTS REVIEWER: new role at Child Support Agency

Jodi Berg has become the queen among solicitor ombudsmen by taking on her fifth supervisory role.Ms Berg has been recently appointed as independent case examiner for the Child Support Agency, in addition to her position as independent complaints reviewer (ICR) for the Land Registry, Charity Commission, Public Record Office and Housing Corporation.Ms Berg, whose job involves impartially reviewing complaints made by members of the public about the respective organisations, was initially approached to take on the role at the Land Registry in 1998 owing to her work in the public sector as chairman of an NHS trust.Her aim as an ICR is to give ordinary people who have problems with the government agencies a chance to make their voice heard.

'People find it very hard to fight bureaucracy,' she said.

'The odds need to be shortened, and an ICR helps to do that - we have an opportunity to make a difference in the way government organisations treat their customers.'Training as a solicitor, according to Mrs Berg, has been 'exceptionally' useful.

'Having a balanced and open approach to the problem is vital in this job, as is an enquiring mind, the desire to get to the bottom of a problem, and the ability to assimilate copious amounts of complex information and to analyse it effectively,' she said.Many solicitors have taken ombudsman roles over recent years; the highest-profile lawyer is Walter Merricks, the Financial Services Ombudsman.Victoria MacCallum