The new Legal Ombudsman for England and Wales (LeO) went live yesterday, marking the latest reform ushered in by the Legal Services Act (LSA).

The LeO is an independent body, established by the Office for Legal Complaints (OLC), which will allow consumers to bring legal complaints against a solicitor or barrister.

The service is free of charge and ensures professional bodies conduct fair, thorough and efficient investigations of complaints about their members.

Chief Ombudsman Adam Sampson said: "We know that most of the time, lawyers provide a good service. But sometimes things can go wrong. When they do, people must have access to someone they can have confidence in to put things right.

"We also want to work closely with lawyers and their regulators to raise standards. We want to help prevent complaints and make the legal and justice systems work better."

Until now, eight different bodies have handled complaints about lawyers and barristers, including the Law Society, the Bar Council and the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, among others.

Conservative MP Jonathan Djanogly (pictured), the minister responsible for legal services, added: "The consumer will have a single point of contact, instead of the current confusing situation, and the process will be a smoother one for the legal profession."