Reappointment of 2 lay members of the Legal Services Board
The Lord Chancellor has approved the reappointment of Catherine Brown and Ian Hamer as lay members of the Legal Services Board.
The Lord Chancellor, after consulting the Lord Chief Justice, has approved the reappointment of 2 lay members of the Legal Services Board.
Catherine Brown has been reappointed for a second term of 4 years from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2027.
Ian Hamer has been reappointed for a second term of 3 years from from 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2026.
The Legal Services Board (LSB) the independent body overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales. Its goal is to reform and modernise the legal services marketplace by putting the interests of consumers at the heart of the system. It is independent of government and the legal profession and oversees the approved regulators which themselves regulate lawyers.
The LSB also oversees the Office for Legal Complaints and its administration of the Legal Ombudsman scheme that resolves complaints about lawyers.
Appointments and reappointments are made by the Lord Chancellor, under the Legal Services Act 2007, and are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. These reappointments have been made in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Catherine Brown
Catherine Brown’s career in the private and public sector has included roles as: Director of Finance of an NHS Trust; Managing Directo of BUPA’s Wellness business and; latterly CEO of the Food Standards Agency, a non-ministerial department of UK Government. Catherine has also held roles as an Equal Opportunities Commissioner and Chair of a Housing Association. She currently chairs two charities: mySociety that exists to support active citizenship through the development of digital tools; and Hubbub that supports behaviour change at scale to benefit the environment. Catherine is also the inaugural chair of the Enforcement Conduct Board.
Ian Hamer
Ian Hamer OBE was a non-executive director at the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care between 2009 and 2017 with oversight of nine regulators of health (all UK) and social care (England). From 2007 to 2009, he was a lay member of the General Optical Council and from 1993 to 2003 Chairman of the Air Transport Users Council. From 1985-2016, Ian was a Justice of the Peace. In terms of his executive career, Ian was Managing Director of a number of companies specialising in plastics including General Plastic Machinery Company Ltd (1990 to 2007), SSX Group plc (1985 to 1990) and Supreme Polymers Ltd (1980 to 1985). Ian is also a Board member of the Family Mediation Standards Board.