Zahida Manzoor CBE has been reappointed as Legal Services Ombudsman and Legal Services Complaints Commissioner for England and Wales by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw today. She already holds both posts.
The role of Ombudsman will cease to exist once the Office of Legal Complaints, created by the Legal Services Act 2007 is fully functional in 2011, while that of the Commissioner will run until the Office of the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner closes in 2010.
The reappointments, which start on 3 March, will ensure that consumer rights are protected during the transition period for the full implementation of the Legal Services Act.
Jack Straw also amended the Commissioner's powers. Ms Manzoor will continue to set targets and make recommendations for the Law Society, focusing on timeliness and reducing the work in progress to ensure the Law Society's performance is of a high standard.
However, Ms Manzoor will not ask the Law Society to submit complaint handling plans from 1 April 2009, and will not start any investigations into complaints handling from 1 July 2009. These changes complement the significant improvements Ms Manzoor has already made with the focus now upon the Commissioner to ensure that there is no slippage in performance during the transition period.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw said:
"I am delighted that Zahida Manzoor has accepted reappointment to both her roles. She has always demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting and promoting the interests of consumers of legal services.
"Zahida has achieved significant improvements to the Law Society's complaints handling in the last few years, both in speed of performance and quality of service.
"The principal beneficiary of these improvements is the consumer. It is paramount that this momentum continues as we enter the transition phase towards the new regime provided by the Legal Services Act 2007.
"The new directions and amended powers simply reflect what we are trying to achieve during the office's final year of operation. That is, to provide a continuing oversight of the Law Society to ensure that performance does not slip before the handover to the Office for Legal Complaints."
