The Legal Services Oversight Commissioner (the ‘Commissioner’) role was established by the Legal Complaints and Regulation Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (the ‘Act’). The Commissioner replaces the role of Lay Observer, which was established by the Solicitors (Northern Ireland) Order 1976.
Whereas the Lay Observer role, in general, was limited to complaints being made about the conduct of solicitors, the Commissioner has responsibility for oversight of complaints being made about both solicitors and barristers. The Act, and therefore the Commissioner role, was a result of a review of legal services in Northern Ireland. It introduces new provisions to move away from a system where legal professionals lead their own complaints process, to one where lay people lead the process.
The Commissioner is publicly appointed by the Minister of Finance, in consultation with the Lady Chief Justice, and, under the terms of the Act, the appointee must not be, and must never have been, a solicitor or barrister.