The Legal Services Board (LSB) has confirmed the appointment of Richard Blakeway to the post of Chair of the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) after an open competition. The OLC is the Board of the Legal Ombudsman for England and Wales.
This follows Richard’s appearance before the Justice Select Committee for pre-appointment scrutiny on 11 March 2026.
The appointment has been approved by the Minister of State for Justice, Sarah Sackman KC MP.
Richard succeeds Elizabeth Davies, whose term of office as Chair of the OLC ended on 31 March 2026.
Catherine Brown, who chaired the OLC Chair recruitment panel on behalf of the LSB, said:
“We are pleased to confirm Richard’s appointment as Chair of the Office for Legal Complaints. The LSB has tasked him with overseeing the transformation of the Legal Ombudsman Scheme to ensure it delivers effective, efficient redress for consumers and uses the intelligence it gathers to drive up standards across the legal sector. Richard brings a strong track record of driving meaningful change in ombudsman services, and we are confident he has the vision and experience to lead the OLC into its next chapter.
“I would like to pay tribute to Elisabeth Davies, who has served as Chair of the Office for Legal Complaints for six years. She took up the role at an extraordinarily challenging time, as the Covid-19 pandemic created significant pressures for the organisation and the wider sector. Throughout her tenure, Elisabeth has been a consistent and effective advocate for raising standards. We wish her well for the future.”
Richard Blakeway said:
“Ombudsman services make a massive difference to lives every day. And their impact can go far wider than individual cases.
“The Legal Ombudsman is central to building trust and confidence in legal services.
“I am excited to be joining the OLC as its new chair at such an important moment in the Legal Ombudsman’s development. The service needs to transform in response to new challenges and ensure it has a wider impact by sharing insights across the legal sector to raise standards and strengthen complaint handling.
“I want to build on the strong progress already made. The commitment and professionalism I’ve already seen across the organisation gives me real confidence about what we can achieve.”
The LSB has also confirmed the appointment of Owen Purcell to OLC.
Patricia Tueje stepped down in February after the end of her first term.
ENDS
About Richard Blakeway
Richard was appointed as Housing Ombudsman in 2019. He has led major changes at the service following the devastating events at Grenfell Tower, including an expansion of its role and powers as part of wider regulatory reform. The Ombudsman has been at the forefront of investigating hazards, especially damp and mould, and raising sector complaint standards with the introduction of a statutory Complaint Handling Code. It has increased transparency to encourage sector learning and culture change, publishing casework data and decisions.
Previously, Richard was chair of the Homes for London board and appointed Deputy Mayor for Housing when investment and land regeneration powers were devolved to the Greater London Authority. He oversaw the delivery of new affordable housing and the redevelopment of around 600 hectares of public land for homes, workspace and schools. He also chaired a board which brought councils, charities and public services together to address rough sleeping, including £10m a year investment into hostels and outreach services.
Richard is a former chair of the Ombudsman Association and has been an election observer in Somaliland and Ukraine. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and sits on the Administrative Justice Council. He was also an adviser in the Number 10 Policy Unit.
Other board roles include currently serving on the board of The British Library, where he also sits on the audit, risk, and capital projects committees, and previously serving on the boards of the Chartered Institute of Housing and the government regeneration agency, Homes England.
About Owen Purcell
Oven is an experienced board-level leader with over 25 years in governance, risk, regulation and organisational transformation.
Owen is a former Managing Partner at Ernst & Young with a record of advising global regulators, governments and FTSE/Fortune 100 companies.
Owen brings extensive trustee and non-executive experience across national charities and professional bodies, with expertise in IT, digital systems and risk oversight.
He is a committed champion of equality, diversity and inclusion, including mentoring through EY’s Women in Technology Network and the EY Foundation for young Black female students.
Owen is skilled at providing strategic challenge, strengthening accountability, and ensuring transparent, consumer-focused governance.
Notes to editors
- The Legal Services Board is the independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of legal services in England and Wales. It was established under the Legal Services Act 2007 to ensure that the regulation of legal services is carried out in the public interest and that the interests of consumers are placed at the heart of the system.
- The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) runs the Legal Ombudsman scheme. The Legal Ombudsman provides an independent and impartial scheme to resolve complaints about lawyers in England and Wales. It was established under the Legal Services Act 2007.
- This appointment was subject to pre-appointment scrutiny by the Justice Select Committee, in line with the process for significant public appointments. Read the committee’s report.
- Elisabeth Davies served two terms as Chair of the OLC. The first from 1 March 2020 to 31 March 2023 and the second from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026.
- The OLC Chair commits approximately 60 days a year to their work on the OLC Board.