Office for Legal Complaints
The Legal Services Act established the Office for Legal
Complaints (OLC) to deal with all complaints about poor service
which cannot be resolved by law firms themselves.
Complaints are handled by the Legal Ombudsman who has
various powers to recompense aggrieved clients and make costs
orders against law firms. Previously, each regulatory body
had its own arrangements for dealing with complaints. The
Approved Regulators will continue to deal with allegations of
misconduct made against their members. The Legal Ombudsman
opened on 6 October 2010.