Putting the legal ombudsman and solicitors in the same room is like inviting Theresa May and Ken Clarke to a cat show. But the two factions got on remarkably well at a Law Society event last week – with chief ombudsman Adam Sampson (pictured) even extracting the odd laugh from his sceptical audience.

Apologising for arriving late at the hotel venue, he informed the audience with a knowing glare: ‘I made a mistake; it’s always best to admit mistakes.’ He told another tale of when, on switchboard duty, he picked up the phone to a solicitor anxiously demanding: ‘I want to sort this out so the ombudsman never hears about this,’ only to be told: ‘You’re speaking to him.’

But meetings with solicitors don’t always end well. Sampson admitted he is used to the same parting shot: ‘It’s been lovely to meet you – I just hope we never meet again.’