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The State of Legal Services 2020 Evidence Compendium

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The State of Legal Services 2020 Evidence Compendium Evidence Compendium THE STATE OF LEGAL SERVICES 2020 CONTENTS 1. Framework and data sources 4 Our approach 5 Data sources 6 2. Environmental context and drivers of change 8 Data from LSB’s Covid-19 dashboard 12 3. Access to legal services for all 14 Summary 15 Snapshot of legal needs 16 Unmet need and barriers to access 19 Legal capability 22 Advice seeking 24 Perceived accessibility of the justice system 26 Paying for legal services 30 Public funding and health of the third sector 33 4. Competition working for consumers 40 Summary 41 Shopping around on price and quality 42 Comparison tools 48 Price competition 49 Levels of innovation and technology adoption 53 Unregulated market 58 The State of Legal Services 2020 § Evidence Compendium § 3 5. Regulation that commands public and professional confidence 62 Summary 63 Quality of legal services 64 Seeking redress 70 Professional conduct 75 Perceptions of legal professionals 82 Regulation: awareness and general public confidence 84 Confidence in the legal system 85 Independence of the legal system 88 6. A diverse and inclusive profession 92 Summary 93 Introduction 94 Availability of data 95 Protected characteristics 96 Socio-economic background 108 Mental health and wellbeing 113 Diversity of judiciary 115 7. A successful and sustainable profession 118 Summary 119 Snapshot of sector 120 Alternative business structures and external investment 123 Economic health of sector 125 The impact of Covid-19 127 Legal aid sector 130 Cost of regulation 132 International standing of jurisdiction 136 8. Endnotes 140 1. FRAMEWORK AND DATA SOURCES The State of Legal Services 2020 § Evidence Compendium § 5 Our approach 1. This evidence compendium forms part justice are both cornerstones of the rule of an assessment of the state of legal of law. Inevitably, there is also degree services in England and Wales in 2020. The of overlap between the five themes, LSB has undertaken this to inform the for example strong competition is an development of a new strategy for legal important enabler of greater access to services regulation. This volume should legal services. The five themes are: be read alongside a separate narrative § Access to legal services for all volume where cross-cutting themes and § Competition working for consumers conclusions are identified. § Public confidence in regulation 2. The compendium is organised into five § A diverse an inclusive profession themes representing high-level outcomes § A successful and sustainable where legal services regulation in England profession and Wales can potentially make the most positive difference for society. The 4. We use a series of proxy measures, sections are closely aligned to the eight statistics, survey evidence and statutory objectives in the Legal Services commentary to assess progress made Act 2007 that bind all the regulatory towards achieving the outcomes. Where bodies1. possible we look back at the last decade of legal services regulation since the 3. We decided on a thematic approach due LSB assumed its powers in 2009, but to the overlap between the regulatory particularly focus on the last three years. objectives and to aid the narrative The evidence compendium was completed flow of the document. For example, in early October 2020. understanding the law and access to 6 § The State of Legal Services 2020 § Evidence Compendium Data sources LSB surveys Other sources 5. The analysis draws on multiple waves 6. The analysis also draws on a range of of four large-scale quantitative surveys other data sources, including: commissioned by the LSB: § Diversity data from the regulators § Individual Legal Needs Survey (2019, (provided directly to LSB or via their 2015, 2012) – adults based in England websites) and Wales (28,663 in 2019, 16,694 in § Complaints data from the regulators 2015 and 4,017 in 2012) on the legal and the Legal Ombudsman issues they experienced in the four § Data from the Office for National years prior to the survey, the action Statistics (ONS) including on: they took and the help they used to § Population estimates of England resolve them and Wales § Small Business Legal Needs Survey § Ethnicity (2017, 2015, 2013) – owners and managers of businesses, in England § Turnover and GDP and Wales, with fewer than 50 § Employment and labour market employees (10,579 in 2017, 10,686 in § Data on businesses 2015 and 10,535 in 2013) on the legal § Legal Services Consumer Panel Tracker problems they experienced in the last Survey on consumer perceptions and 12 months, the action they took and experience carried out annually for the the help they used to resolve them last ten years § Innovation and Technology (2018, § Indicators from: 2015) – legal services providers in § The World Economic Forum Global England and Wales (1,502 in 2018 Competitiveness reports and 1,500 in 2015) on their use of technology (such as cloud storage or § The World Bank Worldwide automated document analysis) and Governance Indicators innovation (including new services or § The World Justice Project Rule of ways of delivering them) in the three Law Index years prior to the survey § Published reports including from: § Prices (2020, 2017, 2015) – legal § The Equality and Human Rights services providers in England and Commission Wales (1,501 in 2020, 1,491 in 2017 § The Social Mobility Commission and 1,506 in 2015) on the prices of § services in three blocks of scenarios: House of Commons Justice conveyancing; divorce; and wills, trusts Select Committee and House of and probate. Commons Library § Ministry of Justice § Law Society (including their indemnity insurance survey) § SRA (including annual reports) The State of Legal Services 2020 § Evidence Compendium § 7 § BSB (including enforcement Diversity considerations reports) § Bar Council 7. To measure differential impacts on consumers, where possible, we provide § UCL – UK Judicial Attitudes Survey breakdowns of survey data against several § Sector and benchmarking reports of the protected characteristics. However, from KPMG, LexisNexis, PwC and even in the largest of our surveys, which Thomson Reuters has a sample of more than 28,000 respondents, it has not always been possible to provide a fully segmented breakdown due to low base sizes. 8. In relation to ethnicity, we have grouped the results as follows, in line with reporting conventions used by the ONS2. Figure 1.1: ONS ethnic group categories GROUP FOR ANALYSIS ETHNIC GROUP Indian Pakistani ASIAN Bangladeshi Chinese Any other Asian background African BLACK Caribbean Any other Black / African / Caribbean background White and Black Caribbean White and Black African White and Asian MIXED MULTIPLE ETHNIC Any other Mixed / Multiple ethnic background Arab Any other ethnic group English / Welsh / Scottish / Northern Irish / British Irish WHITE Any other White background Gypsy or Irish Traveller 2. ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT AND DRIVERS OF CHANGE The State of Legal Services 2020 § Evidence Compendium § 9 9. To assess if the five outcomes for society 10. In the box, we list our observations of key identified in the previous section have drivers of change over the last three-years. been achieved, we need to understand the drivers for change that impact on the market. KEY DRIVERS OF CHANGE Equality, diversity and inclusion by the creation of the LawTech Delivery Panel and other initiatives § Covid-19 is widening and entrenching inequalities in society § Covid-19 is accelerating use of technology to deliver legal services and § Increased demonstration of the public remote justice mood to injustice stemming from deficiencies in diversity and inclusion. § Developments in wider society making The Black Lives Matter and MeToo technological delivery of legal services campaigns are significant signals of a the norm global impatience with evident equality § Key areas of development in legal gaps services include: the infrastructure § Disciplinary bodies taking greater underlying services delivery; decision interest in personal conduct involving support tools and marketplaces; end- EDI issues user functionality § Increased focus on social mobility, which § Signs that developments in technology is stagnating in society as a whole are beginning to benefit ordinary consumers and small businesses, as § EHRC turning its spotlight on the well as large corporate clients criminal justice system and legal aid § Growing cyber threats from criminals § Strengthened legislative requirements, and state actors e.g. gender pay gap reporting § Ambitious courts modernisation The UK’s exit from the European Union programme with technology at its heart § Negotiations on the future relationship Market developments between the UK and EU § A 24% rise in numbers of lawyers since § Widespread concern about the possible 2010/11 damaging consequences of EU exit for legal services, including on mutual § A trebling of alternative business recognition of professional qualifications, structures (ABS) in the last five years and cross-border practice rights and labour growth in other types of alternative legal mobility service provider § Large number of lawyers registering in § All the big four accountancy firms Ireland obtaining ABS licenses. Universities, local authorities and charities are among the Technology types of not-for-profit organisations that have also taken advantage of the ABS § Government ambitions for the Fourth regime Industrial Revolution and the tech sector becoming a major area of growth for the § Market consolidation UK economy mirrored in legal services 10 § The State of Legal Services
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