OLC appoint new Chief Ombudsman and Chief Operating Officer

The Office for Legal Complaints is pleased to announce the appointments of Paul McFadden as Chief Ombudsman and Sandra Strinati as Chief Operating Officer of the Legal Ombudsman.

Elisabeth Davies, Chair of OLC, said:

“Paul and Sandra are joining the Legal Ombudsman at a critically important time, for staff and customers, and for recovering and improving performance. They will revitalise and further strengthen the restructured leadership team and I am confident Paul and Sandra will lead LeO in both stabilising operational delivery and testing innovative ways to deliver the service more efficiently”.

Paul McFadden is highly experienced in the Ombudsman field with a track record in developing Ombudsman organisations and delivering change and innovation in complaints handling. He recently served as Acting Northern Ireland Public Services Ombudsman and previously worked for a number of years with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

Paul said:

“I am honoured to be taking on this important leadership role with the Legal Ombudsman and to be bringing my experience to the organisation at such an important point. I very much look forward to working with the OLC and all of the LeO team, drawing on their valuable experience and insight as we seek to build and deliver a first rate service for complainants. I also look forward to positive engagement with service providers and wider stakeholders in seeking to maximise opportunities to learn from complainants’ experiences to improve legal services.”

Sandra Strinati has an outstanding record in the civil service demonstrating a deep understanding of managing complex operational teams, most recently as the Head of the Operational Delivery Profession Team at HMRC.

Sandra said:

“I am both excited and delighted to be taking up the new role of Chief Operating Officer with the Legal Ombudsman. My career has been focused on service to customers, people engagement and transformation. In this new role my aim will be to ensure there’s a supportive and productive environment for LeO’s teams to work together and provide the quality and timely service that our customers deserve and expect.”