The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for
Justice, , today announced the
appointment of David Edmonds as the first chair of the Legal
Services Board, following consultation with the Lord Chief
Justice of England and Wales.
"I am delighted that David Edmonds will be taking
on this important role. I am
confident that he will provide excellent leadership for the first
Legal Services Board."
"The Legal Services Board is a new office, created
as part of the wider legal services reforms as embodied in the
Legal Services Act 2007. The aims of the organisation are clear -
to put the consumer first and to promote competition, innovation,
and transparency."
"As the first Chair, Mr Edmonds will take the lead
in setting the strategic direction of the Board to ensure that
these aims are met."
Mr Edmonds will formally take up post on 1 May
2008. The term of appointment is until May 2011.
Notes for editors
1. David Edmonds has extensive experience of
leading effective senior management teams in commercial and
public sector organisations. After a career in the senior civil
service and as Chief Executive of the Housing Corporation, he
spent seven years as a Managing Director within the NatWest
Group. His regulatory experience includes five years as Director
General of Telecommunications and two years as a founding member
of the Board of Ofcom. He is currently the Chair of the Board of
NHS Direct. He has served for four years as a Commissioner at the
Legal Services Commission. He will leave both those posts in the
next few months. He is also a non-executive director of a number
of PLCs, and a Trustee of the Social Market Foundation. He holds
an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Keele University.
2. Mr Edmonds was appointed in consultation with
the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, as prescribed under
Schedule 1, section
1(3) of the Legal Services Act 2007.
3. The Legal Services Act 2007 set the stage for
wide-ranging reforms to the provision and regulation of legal
services in England and Wales. The Act establishes the Legal
Services Board (LSB), which will be a single independent
oversight regulator that will replace the current oversight
regulators. The Act establishes the Office for Legal Complaints
(OLC), which will administer an ombudsman scheme that will deal
with all consumer complaints about legal services. The Act also
enables the creation of alternative business structures between
lawyers and non-lawyers.
4. The LSB will be independent from government and
the legal profession. It will be a public body sponsored by the
Ministry of Justice (MoJ). The Chair and other board members will
be responsible for the design and outlook of the organisation,
for establishing the new regulatory framework and for providing
oversight of approved regulators and licensing authorities. The
LSB will become fully operational by early 2010.
