Purple Lions? Seth meets LEO

Does Seth Godin have a particular interest in the UK legal profession?

I'm guessing the answer is "no" based on his recent post called why you might be in favour of transparency (although his books and blog posts are often referred to by commentators on the sector).

I can't help feeling that if he did have an interest in UK lawyers, he would have included a reference to the Legal Ombudsman's recent decision (PDF link) not to consider publishing the names of individual law firms who have been subject to a "formal decision" by LEO until 2012 (at the earliest).

Seth's views in his post seem consistent with the comments from the chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel (PDF link) that:-

"The only winners from today's announcement are the small minority of firms that persistently fail consumers - their poor behaviour will now not be unmasked."

Surely all firms which consistently provide great service to clients should be pushing for this kind of transparency as a priority?

Obviously there are counter-arguments. Firms are worried that the decisions from LEO are not "judicial" in nature and could be arbitrary... Is it fair to have a public statement of the decision in this circumstances?

Arguably it isn't, but surely for the "good" firms the benefits should outweigh any risks? The decisions may not be judicial in nature, but we are hardly talking about Solicitors from Hell.

If Seth is correct that:-

"...sunlight is an antiseptic and the marketplace rewards those that behave--and the entire market grows when the standards increase."

Then maybe it's time for lawyers themselves to start campaigning for greater transparency from LEO?