Interim Chair appointed to the Legal Services Board

The Lord Chancellor has approved the appointment of Catherine Brown as Interim Chair of the Legal Services Board.Wales.

Ms Brown is appointed until 31 December 2025.    

The appointment of the LSB Chair is made by the Lord Chancellor, under the Legal Services Act 2007, after consulting the Lady Chief Justice.

The appointment is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Ministers consulted the Commissioner before making the appointment. This will ensure that the LSB has a Chair while a recruitment exercise is run.

Biography

Catherine Brown is an experienced non-executive board member, chair, and chief executive who has worked in the private and public sectors. Ms Brown was previously CEO of the Food Standards Agency and is now serving as the first Chair of the Enforcement Conduct Board; a new independent oversight body for the civil enforcement sector. Ms Brown was vice chair of the Wellcome Trust advisory group on increasing diversity and inclusion in science and served as an Equal Opportunities Commissioner. She is currently chair of the Internet Watch Foundation; a charity that exists to prevent the sharing of child sexual abuse material on the internet.

Ms Brown has been a member of the Board of the LSB since 2023 and has been Chair of the LSB's Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and then Senior Independent Director prior to her appointment as Interim Chair.