Working towards our 10 year strategy

Individual consumers and small businesses rely on legal services. An estimated 7.5 million adults in England and Wales experience a legal issue each year, ranging from individual issues like divorce, criminal justice, child protection, debt, or home ownership, to business issues like trademarks and patents, tax, employment, or regulation. Our research shows an estimated 31% of individuals and 12% of small businesses with a legal issue have an unmet legal need, which can be due to poor legal service received or difficulties engaging with service providers.

This dashboard highlights certain factors that link to having an unmet legal need. In particular, individual legal confidence and a sense whether justice is accessible are associated with a legal need is met. This highlights the challenge to empower consumers, examine ways to raise legal confidence, and streamline accessibility. The dashboard also monitors UK government spending on civil and criminal legal aid to support consumers.

Outcomes we are looking for: Surveys showing that unmet legal need has greatly reduced and outcomes and experience of legal services are much more equal across the population. A strong publicly-funded safety net for citizens needing financial support to access legal services reinforced by a strong third sector and sustainable provider base.

Our research has highlighted how individuals and small businesses encounter disadvantages when seeking legal services, particularly when legal confidence is low and access to justice is perceived to be difficult.  

In this dashboard, we present findings from our Small Business Legal Needs and Individual Legal Needs surveys showing the impact these factors can have on outcomes when using legal services. For example, small businesses that find access to justice difficult are less likely to get professional help for their legal issue and are more likely to describe the process as unfair. This highlights the challenge of assisting consumers with low confidence or knowledge of legal services to be able to obtain the best outcomes and feel comfortable when engaging with providers.  

Outcomes we are looking for: Improved outcomes in the Small Business Legal Needs and Individual Legal Needs surveys. Better identification of people in vulnerable circumstances through strategies developed by providers, and regulators that focus on making sure firms treat their customers fairly and embed vulnerability considerations into their culture, policies, and processes. 

A diverse society should be represented by a diverse legal profession. Challenges are experienced across industries in ensuring representation, diversity, and inclusion, but there are areas where legal services have exacerbated disparities. For example, the median gender pay gap across all industries was around 15% in 2021 but, within legal services, it was more than double this figure. 

In this dashboard, we collate diversity data from across the membership of regulatory bodies in legal services, comparing them to the national average. We also report the rate of enquiries to LawCare, a charity providing mental wellbeing support for legal professionals. The statistics highlight the challenge of ensuring legal services reflect the diversity of the public they serve, and the areas where more can be done to promote a diverse and inclusive workforce.  

Outcomes we are looking for: Regulators improve evaluation of diversity and inclusion initiatives and report on progress. The profession identifies barriers to entry, progression, and attrition and addresses them, closing diversity gaps over time. Legal professionals are as diverse as the communities they serve at all levels in the profession, from new entrants to senior leaders, and in the judiciary. 

Public trust and satisfaction in services is vital for a strong legal sector. However, we know some consumers feel reticent to raise complaints with service providers, and perceptions about the profession can influence engagement. In this dashboard, we report data examining consumer attitudes towards the profession. We also present data on complaints, disciplinary cases, and professional negligence cases against legal professionals over time. These statistics highlight the challenge of strengthening high professional standards within legal services and promoting greater transparency to aid public trust.

Outcomes we are looking for: Increased consumer trust in the legal sector reflected in the Legal Services Consumer Panel Tracker survey. Fewer complaints, disciplinary, and negligence cases over time. Regulators have effective measures in place to ensure legal professionals remain competent throughout their careers.

When consumers engage with legal service providers, it can be the case that they simply assume that their provider is regulated, or it may not cross their mind. In this dashboard, we show data from our research of a discrepancy between individual and small businesses’ awareness of whether their provider is regulated versus what proportion is regulated. Indeed, there is even preliminary evidence among small businesses that this awareness has declined. This highlights the challenge to ensure consumers are protected when they engage with legal service providers. In addition, we show data on broader consumer protection, including legal enquiries made to Citizens Advice Bureau for support and the rate of legal expenses insurance protection among the UK population.

Outcomes we are looking for: Increased public understanding of the consumer protections in place, for example more households holding a legal expenses insurance policy or other mechanisms enabling them to access legal services. The creation of a single digital register of legal professionals combining relevant regulatory and customer-focused information, and better access to redress for consumers.

The justice system faces a number of ongoing challenges, such as a high backlog in court cases. The Legal Ombudsman also faces a significant backlog of complaints. In this dashboard, we track the number of outstanding court cases and present data on judicial independence compared to other countries around the world, as well as views of judges of the regulatory landscape and change within the judiciary. This highlights the challenge to maintain the independence of the judiciary and ensure citizens’ issues are dealt with in a timely manner.

Outcomes we are looking for: Reforms to ensure regulation remains fit for purpose, and improved complaints handling and dispute resolution processes through a reduction in the backlog of complaints to the Legal Ombudsman.

Shopping around for the best deal, such as through using online market comparison tools and obtaining multiple quotes when looking for a new internet provider, should also extend to consumers accessing legal service providers but only around 30% of consumers do this. In this dashboard, we present evidence from our Individual Legal Needs survey as well as the Legal Services Consumer panel tracker surveys, which highlight the need to empower consumers to access effective tools such as digital price comparison websites.  

Outcomes we are looking for: Enhanced transparency on price and quality by legal providers which consumers engage with. Improved digital comparison tools to easily compare providers. 

We believe fostering responsible innovation is in the public interest. It can make legal services more accessible, efficient, and aid in reducing the incidence of unmet legal need for consumers. In this dashboard, we show current levels of service innovation, taken from our Technology and Innovation survey research. We also show businesses’ views on legal service regulation, cited as one of the biggest potential barriers to innovation (e.g., innovating while meeting professional indemnity insurance requirements). This highlights the role regulators can play in working with providers to promote innovation and clarity on evolving regulation.  

Outcomes we are looking for: Ensuring that regulation does not impede innovation. Creation of a regulatory environment that fosters innovation, e.g., through information-sharing, sandboxes, and innovation funds. 

Technology can transform the ways in which legal services are delivered. For example, a virtual assistant or ‘chatbot’ on a solicitor firm’s website can help clarify a consumer’s legal need and quickly direct them to the right service, while a smart device app can allow a consumer to easily track progress on their case. However, emerging technologies can also raise ethical considerations, especially in how consumer data is used by service providers. 

In this dashboard, we provide a snapshot of the different technologies businesses are using, based on our Technology and Innovation survey research, as well as the barriers individuals raise about using these technologies. This highlights the role of regulators to react to the new technologies being developed and ensure consumers’ interests and concerns over factors such as data security are considered.  

Outcomes we are looking for: Increased consumer confidence in new technology, ensuring that technology is used in ways that are ethically and socially acceptable through improved guidance and support from regulators.