The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) is committed to sharing and disseminating what we learn with the public and the industry. LeO Links provides summaries of information that we come across during our research that we think our readers will find interesting and relevant to their work.

If you would like any further information about the projects or issues mentioned please contact Sarah Steele, Research Lead sarah.steele@legalombudsman.org.uk.

Better Information in the Legal Services Market.

In June, we published the findings of our joint research with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) into information transparency in the legal services market. The research, undertaken by London Economics (LE), was commissioned to help inform LeO’s and the SRA’s approach to information provision. This followed on from the CMA’s key findings that there is limited transparency about price and quality related information in the legal services market, as well as low awareness of the regulatory status of legal services, and the associated redress mechanisms.

Using a mixed methodology, included an extensive literature review and four pieces of primary research exploring consumers’ awareness and understanding of different regulatory protections, the research assessed the extent to which consumers would use information provided by the SRA / LeO about the different regulatory protections in their decision-making process.

The research found consumers’ current level of understanding of regulatory protections is mixed.  60% of participants in trials believed that all legal service providers are regulated and only 41% of respondents who had used a regulated provider stated they were aware of their ability to access LeO.
 
Of those unaware that their provider was covered by an Ombudsman, more than half (52%) assumed all providers were covered, and 22% did not know where to find the information.

However, it also found that consumers will engage with and use information on regulatory protections when it is provided. Respondents used LeO’s decisions data when choosing a legal services provider and 54% of participants ranked the legal services provider with most regulatory protections as their first choice compared to 14% who ranked that provider as their last choice.

Consumers would like additional and / or more transparent information on prices and quality. In choosing their provider, most respondents said that regulatory protections were less of an important choice factor compared to price and quality. Consumers are also willing and able to weigh up price and regulatory protections as 41% of participants were willing to switch to the cheapest provider with the least protections.

More information on the research can be found here
http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/better-information-research/

Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP) Tracker Survey 2018

The LSCP have published the results of their annual tracker survey. The tracker survey, which has been undertaken for the last 8 years, tracks and monitors trends amongst recent users of legal services and the wider public with regards to choosing and using legal services.

This year’s survey has found the highest levels of satisfaction with the legal services since the survey started running in 2010, with 84% of consumers say they are satisfied with the service they receive from their legal services provider. A further 88% of consumers say they are satisfied with the outcome of their legal matter, which has increased from 83% in 2017.

However, while the proportion of ‘silent sufferers’ (consumers who are dissatisfied with the services but do nothing) has fallen to 35% from 49% in 2017, 27% of legal service users who are unsatisfied with the service they have received are still uncertain of how to make a complaint.

The research also found that legal services delivered through email or the internet/online continue to rise, increasing from 21% in 2012 to 30% in 2018. Email or the internet are mostly accessed in conveyancing (52%) and problems with consumer services or goods (37%).

More information on the surveys can be found at: http://www.legalservicesconsumerpanel.org.uk/publications/research_and_reports/index.html

Legal Needs of small businesses – Legal Services Board (LSB)

Earlier this month, the LSB released the findings of their additional research into the legal needs of small businesses and transparency in pricing.
The research consisted of additional analysis of data captured as part of their 2017 survey tracking how an individual or business responds when faced with a problem that can be resolved using legal processes.

The survey showed continuing high levels of unmet need amongst small businesses, with total annual losses due to legal problems estimated to be £40bn. Furthermore, this new analysis has found that transparency from legal service providers on price will result in small businesses in England and Wales seeking more legal advice, with those who believe that ‘legal service providers are transparent about their costs’ being twice as likely to seek advice.

More information on the research can be found here

http://www.legalservicesboard.org.uk/news_publications/LSB_news/PDF/2018/20180801
_Transparency_Of_Prices_Could_Result_In_Substantial_Increase_In_Small_Business_Clients.html