Legal Services Complaints Commissioner
In England and Wales, the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner was a statutory office that regulates solicitors, but not barristers. A Commissioner could be appointed by, and is answerable to, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice. It has been superseded by the Legal Ombudsman. History When the Access to Justice Act 1999 came into force, government minister Keith Vaz stated to the House of Commons:Legal Services Complaints Commissioner (2005) ''p.''5 In September 2003, Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer, criticised the Law Society, the governing body of solicitors, saying: As a result, the Lord Chancellor exercised his powers under the Act to appoint Zahida Manzoor as Commissioner in February 2004. The Commissioner's powers as to the Law Society were to:S.52(2) *Require them to report on their handling of complaints about solicitors; *Investigate the handling of complaints; *Make recommendations; *Set targets; *Require the Law Society to submit a plan for the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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England And Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is English law. The devolved Senedd (Welsh Parliament; cy, Senedd Cymru) – previously named the National Assembly of Wales – was created in 1999 by the Parliament of the United Kingdom under the Government of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree of self-government in Wales. The powers of the Parliament were expanded by the Government of Wales Act 2006, which allows it to pass its own laws, and the Act also formally separated the Welsh Government from the Senedd. There is no equivalent body for England, which is directly governed by the parliament and government of the United Kingdom. History of jurisdiction During the Roman occupation of Britain, the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit, exc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Law Society
A law society is an association of lawyers with a regulatory role that includes the right to supervise the training, qualifications, and conduct of lawyers. Where there is a distinction between barristers and solicitors, solicitors are regulated by the law societies and barristers by a separate bar council. History Much has changed for law societies in recent years, with governments in Australia, New Zealand, England, Wales, and Scotland creating government sponsored regulators for lawyers (both barristers and solicitors), leaving to law societies the role of advocacy on behalf of their members. Canada In Canada, each province and territory has a law society (french: barreau) with statutory responsibility for regulation of the legal profession in the public interest. These law societies are members of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada, which seeks to increase coordination between its members and encourage the standardization of members’ rules and procedures. In C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Legal Organisations Based In England And Wales
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the art of justice. State-enforced laws can be made by a group legislature or by a single legislator, resulting in statutes; by the executive through decrees and regulations; or established by judges through precedent, usually in common law jurisdictions. Private individuals may create legally binding contracts, including arbitration agreements that adopt alternative ways of resolving disputes to standard court litigation. The creation of laws themselves may be influenced by a constitution, written or tacit, and the rights encoded therein. The law shapes politics, economics, history and society in various ways and serves as a mediator of relations between people. Legal systems vary between jurisdictions ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Organizations Established In 2004
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from the Greek word ''organon'', which means tool or instrument, musical instrument, and organ. Types There are a variety of legal types of organizations, including corporations, governments, non-governmental organizations, political organizations, international organizations, armed forces, charities, not-for-profit corporations, partnerships, cooperatives, and educational institutions, etc. A hybrid organization is a body that operates in both the public sector and the private sector simultaneously, fulfilling public duties and developing commercial market activities. A voluntary association is an organization consisting of volunteers. Such organizations may be able to operate without legal formalities, depending on jurisdiction, in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Legal Ethics
Legal ethics are principles of conduct that members of the legal profession are expected to observe in their practice. They are an outgrowth of the development of the legal profession itself. In the United States In the U.S., each state or territory has a code of professional conduct dictating rules of ethics. These may be adopted by the respective state legislatures and/or judicial systems. The American Bar Association has promulgated the Model Rules of Professional Conduct which, while formally only a recommendation by a private body, have been influential in many jurisdictions. The Model Rules address many topics which are found in state ethics rules, including the ''client-lawyer relationship'', duties of a lawyer as ''advocate'' in adversary proceedings, dealings ''with persons other than clients'', ''law firms and associations'', ''public service'', ''advertising'', and ''maintaining the integrity of the profession''. Respect of client confidences, candor toward the tribu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Office For Legal Complaints
The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) is the board of the Legal Ombudsman, the free service that investigates complaints about lawyers in England and Wales. The OLC was established by the Legal Services Act 2007. The Legal Services Board, a non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ..., appoints the OLC's members. Objectives The OLC ensures that they and the Legal Ombudsman promote the regulatory objectives set out in the Act, which are: * protecting and promoting the public interest; * supporting the constitutional principle of law; * improving access to justice; * protecting and promoting the interests of consumers; * promoting competition in the provision of services; * encouraging an independent, strong, diverse an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Legal Services Act 2007
The Legal Services Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that seeks to liberalise and regulate the market for legal services in England and Wales, to encourage more competition and to provide a new route for consumer complaints. It also makes provisions about the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007. Regulatory objectives Section 1 of the Act defines eight regulatory objectives: *Protecting and promoting the public interest; *Supporting the constitutional principle of the rule of law; *Improving access to justice; *Protecting and promoting the interests of consumers of legal services; *Promoting competition in the provision of legal services; *Encouraging an independent, strong, diverse and effective legal profession; *Increasing public understanding of the citizen's legal rights and duties; *Promoting and maintaining adherence to the professional principles; The professional principles are: *Authorised persons should act with independence ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Legal Complaints Service
In England and Wales, the Legal Complaints Service was a body that formally investigated complaints about solicitors, which was superseded by the Legal Ombudsman in 2010. Background Solicitors in England and Wales are both represented and regulated by the Law Society and, before 2007, the society investigated complaints about its members through its Legal Complaints Service (LCS). However, in September 2003, the Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer, criticised the society, saying:Legal Services Complaints Commissioner (2005) ''p.''5 As a result, in February 2004 the Lord Chancellor exercised his powers under the Access to Justice Act 1999 to appoint a Legal Services Complaints Commissioner to regulate the society. In response to the commissioner's criticisms, in 2005, the Law Society divided its functions among the society, the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Complaints Service but by May 2006, the society's efforts to remedy its own deficiencies were still giving concern ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales. It is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of more than 125,000 solicitors and other authorised individuals at more than 11,000 firms, as well as those working in-house at private and public sector organisations. The SRA, based in Birmingham with an office in London, is led operationally by a Chief Executive and Senior Management Team, with a Board and Board Sub-Committees providing strategic direction. The SRA was formed in January 2007 by the Legal Services Act 2007 to act as the independent regulator of solicitors. While formally an arm of the Law Society, the SRA is a statutory creation and operationally independent of the Law Society. In a report by Sir David Clementi of all legal services in England and Wales, he recommended that professional bodies holding both regulatory and representative responsibilities should separate those roles. The government ado ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zahida Manzoor
Zahida Parveen Manzoor, Baroness Manzoor, (born 25 May 1958) is a British businessperson and Conservative member of the House of Lords. Early life Manzoor was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan to Nazir Ahmed (military veteran and businessman) and Mahroof Ahmed who moved to England when she was four years old. She became a nurse before attending the University of Leeds (1983) and receiving an MA from the University of Bradford in 1989. She became a Lecturer before moving on to hold a number of senior positions in the NHS and then the regulation of Legal Services. Public life From 1992 to 1997 Manzoor served as the Chairman of Bradford Health Authority before being appointed as one of the eight Regional Chairmen for the National Health Service (NHS). In this role she was responsible for the Northern and Yorkshire Region of the NHS with a budget of £3.5 billion and serving a population of 6.3 million. She held this position from 1997 to 2001 during which time she also served as a m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles Falconer, Baron Falconer Of Thoroton
Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, (born 19 November 1951) is a British Labour peer and barrister who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2003 to 2007. Born in Edinburgh, Falconer read law at Queens' College, Cambridge and then worked as a barrister in London. During his time as a barrister, he was a flatmate of Tony Blair. Although Blair went into politics, Falconer focused on his legal career and became a Queen's Counsel. After Blair was elected as Prime Minister, Falconer was created a life peer and made Solicitor General for England and Wales. He is the only known person to have served as Solicitor General as a peer. Later, he served as Minister of State for the Cabinet Office, Minister of State for Housing, Planning and Regeneration and Minister of State for Criminal Justice, Sentencing and Law Reform respectively. Falconer became the Lord Chancellor and the first Secretary of State ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by legislative bodies; they are distinguished from case law or precedent, which is decided by court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and carry out the administration of justice in Civil law (common law), civil, C ...s, and regulations issued by government agencies. Publication and organization In virtually all countries, newly enacted statutes are published and distributed so that everyone can look up the statutory law. This can be done in the form of a government gazette which may include other kinds of legal notices released by the government, or in the form of a series of books whose content is limite ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |