The Lord Chancellor has approved the appointment of Monisha Shah as chair of the Legal Services Board for four years from 1st April 2026.
For the last 12 months, Catherine Brown had acted as interim chair of the oversight regulator after the unexpectedly short tenure of Alan Kershaw who stepped down in February 2025 after less than two years in post, citing personal reasons.
Shah is an experienced chair and non-executive director, having served as chair of Publishers’ Licensing Services and co-chair of the Copyright Licensing Agency. She also chairs the Kings Counsel Selection Panel and serves as council member of the Advertising Standards Authority. She is a serving trustee of the Royal Collection Trust, Art Fund and chair of trustees of Caterham School.
Shah’s previous experience includes non-executive roles at the Office of Students, the Ofcom Content Board, and the Arts and Humanities Research Council. She has also served as a member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life
The appointment follows a Justice Select Committee pre-appointment scrutiny hearing in March and the publication of the Committee’s report. Appointments to the LSB are made by the Lord Chancellor under the Legal Services Act 2007, after consulting the Lady Chief Justice. Appointments are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments; recruitment processes comply with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
