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The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority this month moved to parity between solicitor and lay ordinary members, ahead of introducing a lay majority in two years’ time. Shamit Saggar, the former chairman of the Legal Complaints Service, joined the board this month as part of a deal with the Legal Services Board.

My latest blog on how slowly decisions are made in our new regulatory regime and how figures about the number of complaints against financial institutions put the debate over publishing law firms’ complaints records into a stark context, while it is time to bid farewell for good to the Legal Complaints Service.

The outgoing Legal Services Ombudsman (LSO), Zahida Manzoor, is to hand over an estimated 600 cases awaiting investigation when her office closes at the beginning of next month, far more than previously thought.

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) today reopened the debate about whether the details of complaints against lawyers should be published, including their names, with a strong endorsement from the Legal Services Consumer Panel that they should. In a discussion paper that seeks views on how it should approach the publication of complaints data, LeO says a naming policy could benefit consumers and lawyers, but that there could be unintended negative consequences too.

So farewell (almost), Zahida Manzoor. Her final annual report after more than seven years as Legal Services Ombudsman is understandably reflective ahead of the post’s abolition on 6 October when the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC)/Legal Ombudsman (no, we’re not sure which to call it either) opens for business. Ms Manzoor deserves a chance to bask in the glow of her achievements.