Board Membersclosed

Deadline for applications: 1st October 2022

Inclusive Boards are delighted to be supporting the Legal Services Board (LSB) and Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) in their search for two new Board Members.

OLC, an arm’s length body of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), overseen by LSB, administers an independent ombudsman scheme to resolve complaints by consumers about legal services – the scheme is known as the Legal Ombudsman. Something somewhere has gone wrong when people contact the Legal Ombudsman. The people who use the scheme have experienced disappointment and possibly distress when accessing legal services and attempts to resolve the matter with the legal services provider have failed. It is incumbent on the Legal Ombudsman to apply effort, energy, and focus to deliver the highest-quality service, in reasonable timeframes, professionally, and with transparency.

As a member reporting to the Chair of the OLC Board, you will work with the Chair and other members of the OLC Board to set the strategic direction of the Legal Ombudsman scheme and drive performance, to provide strong governance, and to safeguard the independence of the scheme in relation to decisions on complaints about legal services.

You will help the Legal Ombudsman scheme improve performance and provide the valuable information it holds to regulators, consumers and legal services providers in ways they find most helpful. This reflects the important role that the Legal Ombudsman scheme plays in underpinning consumer confidence.

The OLC is looking to recruit two new Board Members to support the diversity of skills on its Board. 

One Board member will be lay, that is a member who is not a legal professional or legally qualified. The OLC is particularly keen to hear from individuals with either of the following sets of experiences:
 
•    Experience of interacting with or providing services to service users; understanding of real or perceived barriers to accessing public services; awareness of different accessibility needs.
•    Business knowledge, acumen, and leadership in a comparable organisation including an understanding of customer services operations; understanding of operational delivery and demand management. Expertise and awareness in communications and marketing gained through this experience would also be of interest.

One Board member will be non-lay – this means a legal professional or legally qualified professional.

For these purposes, to be a non-lay member you must be, or have been at any time an authorised person in relation to an activity which is a reserved legal activity under the Legal Services Act 2007.

Typically, this would mean a: barrister; solicitor; public notary; licensed conveyancer; chartered legal executive; registered patent attorney; registered trade mark attorney; costs lawyer; or, someone granted a right of audience or right to conduct litigation  A non-lay member can be non-practicing.

For more information about the roles at the Office for Legal Complaints, please download the candidate pack by clicking on the link below:

Office for Legal Complaints Candidate pack (Word)          Office for Legal Complaints Candidate pack (pdf) 

If you wish to apply for this position, please supply a detailed CV and a supporting statement (maximum 2 sides) highlighting your suitability for the role, why you meet the person specification and bring to life your motivation for becoming Board member of the Office for Legal Complaints – they would like to know what it is about them, their cause, or work that resonates with you personally.  Please note that the statement explaining your suitability is an important part of your application and you will not be considered without both.