Board appointment
Following the launch of OLSCC, the Commissioner appointed an Advisory Board to bring a wider range of experiences and skills to her work, and to build on the recommendations of the Better Regulation Executive and its 'Principles of Good Regulation'. The Advisory Board held its first meeting in 2004, and since then it has continued to provide the Commissioner with invaluable support and advice on a number of key issues around legal services complaints handling.
In February 2006 the Commissioner also set up a Legal Services Consumer Board to help inform her work and add additional focus on expectations of good legal services complaints handling by consumers. The Commissioner did this to bring a wider range of experiences and skills to her work as Commissioner, and to ensure that consumer's views on complaints handling by the Law Society are at the heart of the Government's legal reforms. The Commissioner's Legal Services Consumer Board was set up to be advisory in nature, specialising in providing expertise in consumer needs.
In April 2008 the Commissioner and Board members agreed to a formal merger of both Boards.
Duties
The main duties and role of the Board are:
- To assist in identifying what consumers of legal services, particularly those who are at a disadvantage, want from the Legal Complaints Service (LCS) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
- To assist in determining what level of performance and customer service standards it is reasonable to expect the LCS and SRA to deliver.
- To help identify good practice and ways in which the LCS and SRA could improve its service for consumers.
- To advise the Commissioner on her work programme, priorities, methods of working and communications.
- To help to inform the activities and opinions of stakeholders including consumers of legal services, the Law Society and its members.
- To help identify good practice which can be used in the setting up of the Legal Services Board and Office for Legal Complaints.
The Board remit does not extend to the investigation of individual consumer complaints.
Members
Colin Brown - is Policy Director at the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). He joined the OFT in 2003 after three years as Chairman of the Financial Services Consumer Panel. He also worked as an independent consultant specialising in consumer policy and research, both in the UK and internationally. Before that he was Deputy Research Director at the Consumers' Association and Senior Fellow at the Policy Studies Institute.
Rob Chester - is currently Head of Risk and Deputy Company Secretary for Asda Stores Limited. He has an extremely broad role to assess and adequately control the risks that exist in a twenty first century retailer. Prior to joining Asda, Rob spent ten years at Tesco. Whilst progressing his retail career Rob also studied for a Law Degree and latterly the Legal Practice Course.
The Countess of Eglinton and Winton - has been involved as a fundraiser for the NSPCC since 1960, becoming a Trustee 1993 - 2003. She also served as a Trustee of the NSPCC Pension Scheme. Marion was a Governor of the Royal Masonic School for Girls 1992 - 1998. She is currently fund raising, and organising events for Leonard Cheshire Scotland.
Louise Hanson - has worked at Which?, the largest consumer organisation in Europe, since February 2000. She joined as a Senior Public Affairs Officer and became Head of Campaigns in July 2003. Previously Louise worked in campaigns and public affairs at Oxfam and Townswomen's Guilds.
David Harker OBE - has been Chief Executive of Citizens Advice since 1997. He joined Citizens Advice from Sense, the national disability charity, where he was managing director. His earlier career included management consultancy, running an inner city charity, working for a council of voluntary service, as a policy analyst for a local authority and a research and press officer for a trade union. David has an MBA from London Business School and an MA in social policy.
Malcolm Hurlston - is a social entrepreneur who has founded and chairs a number of charities and non-profit making organisations. This includes the Foundation for Credit Counselling, Britain's leading debt charity, and the Registry Trust, which registers judgement, fines and decree information in the UK and Ireland.
Clare Montgomery QC (associate basis member) - a Deputy High Court Judge since 2003. Clare is a highly respected specialist in criminal law, perhaps best known for her work on 'white collar crime' cases, such as Guinness and Maxwell.
George Seligman - a partner with Slaughter and May, a leading international law firm with a world-wide corporate, commercial and financing practice. George specialises in financing, corporate recovery and insolvency work, and also has a general commercial practice. He has acted for borrowers and lenders on a wide range of financing transactions including securitisations, acquisition finance, syndicated and bilateral loans and structured finance.
Professor Avrom Sherr - is Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies. He also continues as the Woolf Professor of Legal Education at the Institute. His main areas of interest have been the development of legal education, the sociology of the legal profession, ethics in professional work and the provision of legal services. He was a member of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct; and of the Race Relations and Equal Opportunities Committees of the Law Society of England and Wales. He also acts as a consultant to government and professional bodies in relation to access to justice and professional training and discipline.
Steven Silver - is Head Of Legal Services and Deputy Secretary of United Co-operatives Limited, the largest independent Co-operative Society in the UK. Steven was educated at Esher County Grammar School and the University of Durham where he obtained a Joint Honours degree in Law and Politics. Following his successful completion of the Law Society Finals Examination in 1983, Steven went on to work for a number of law firms including Sugden & Spencer Solicitors (1987 - 1993) and Radcliffes LeBrasseurs Solicitors (1993 - 1996) where he was a partner.
Stephen Boys Smith - a former senior civil servant with extensive experience of working closely with Ministers and managing and bringing change into large organisations. He is presently Joint Secretary to the Independent Monitoring Commission, Northern Ireland.
Michael Wilson - has worked as a Lawyer for the Department of Transportation in Washington D.C, before joining the law firm of Surrey and Morse. He became a partner of this firm in 1972. In 1974 Michael left the firm to join EON Productions and is executive producer for the Bond films.
In addition the Board has an associate member:
Clare Montgomery QC, (associate basis member) - a Deputy High Court Judge since 2003. Clare is a highly respected specialist in criminal law, perhaps best known for her work on 'white collar crime' cases, such as Guinness and Maxwell.