On March 17th, 2014, Ms Victoria Pearman will be taking up a new position as Ombudsman of Bermuda, whose office is on Dundonald Street, Hamilton, succeeding Ms Arlene Brock.

Ms Pearman, who is a Warwick Academy single parent, said, “I would agree that the decision to take this position was influenced in part by my parental responsibilities. This change will allow me to have more personal time. I also see this as another way to be of service. I look forward to using the skills I have learned in a new way.”

What is an Ombudsman you ask? The word means to represent. It is an office whose job is to investigate complaints from the public of Bermuda. This office reviews the decisions of Government departments and makes suggestions on how to improve.

Ms Pearman, who has been a lawyer for 20 years, has no choice but to pack up her law firm, which was opened in 1998. During this time she has had more than 200 court cases and over 1,000 clients. She said, “I am sad to be closing it. I will miss doing what I have been doing for the past 20 years.”

When the announcement was made by the Governor on January 9th, 2014, Ms Pearman noted, “I received congratulations from so many people my phone couldn’t take it.”

When asked why some people were saying she should not get this job because she was a PLP member, Ms Pearman stated, “The Ombudsman must behave politically neutral. Even though I served as a senator in 2001 in the PLP government that does not mean I can’t be fair. Just because a person has played for a Cup Match team doesn’t mean they can’t be a fair umpire at Cup Match. “In order to be an Ombudsman you have to be trusted by people and be respected.”

Her clients will miss her dearly and they are sad to see her go.