ABSTRACT
Self-regulation is one of the typically cited traits of professionalism, and the Law Society has always asserted as a right of solicitors. An important external addition to the regulatory process occurred in the early 1990s, with the statutory introduction of the Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO). The LSO oversees complaints handling by the Law Society, and it is intended that she should bring independent oversight to the self-regulatory process. Dishonesty will usually represent the most serious professional offence a solicitor can commit yet the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has not always acquitted itself well when called upon to deal with such cases. The Law Society has been criticised for attempting to both regulate and represent solicitors. Complaints handling, rather than regulation and discipline, had long been the focus of concern by bodies critical of the Law Society. In an attempt to ensure a consumer focus, the Office for Legal Complaints would have a lay-dominated managing board.
