LSB publishes clear expectations for regulators to improve consumer information, promote rights, and drive choice in legal services market

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has published a statutory statement of policy on empowering consumers to better access information about the service and quality of legal services providers.

Developed following a consultation and engagement with the legal services regulators and others across the sector, the statement outlines how the regulators should ensure that people and small businesses who need legal advice have the information they need to shop around and choose the provider most suited to their legal needs.

With the published statement, the LSB has set expectations for the regulators to ensure legal services providers offer useful information to consumers about the cost and quality of their services and on redress and regulation.

Findings from our 2020 Individual Legal Needs Survey suggest that 3.6 million people in England and Wales have an unmet legal need involving a dispute each year. Findings from our 2021 Small Business Legal Needs Survey suggest that only a quarter of small businesses obtain professional help to deal with legal issues, while half try to handle them alone or take no action at all.

The statement sets out that regulators should implement effective programmes of activity to support public legal education, focusing on activities that support people to understand when they have a legal problem and how to access the professional help they need to resolve it.

This includes, for example, contributing to cross-sector initiatives like the Legal Choices website to increase public understanding of the citizen’s legal rights and duties.

It follows the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) market study of legal services in 2016 and a further review in 2020. In both assessments, the CMA found that the market was not working in the best interests of consumers. It recommended that the regulators improve market transparency for consumers and that the LSB coordinate and oversee progress.

The LSB welcomes the progress by the regulators since the CMA’s 2020 review and sees opportunities for continued collaboration to address the challenges that face consumers engaging effectively with the market. The Market Transparency Co-ordination and Oversight Group, chaired by the LSB, will continue to provide a forum for collaboration across regulators.

Dr Helen Phillips, Chair of the LSB, said:

“Too many people and businesses don’t get access to the legal help that would give them better outcomes to their problems.

“Often that’s because they don’t have the information that would give them the confidence to get that help. Information like what to expect from a lawyer, how much it will cost and what quality of service they can expect.

“These are all areas that, while challenging, are not beyond the ingenuity of the sector.

“This statutory policy statement will help drive the progress needed in the sector, and sets the expectation of collaboration between the regulators in the best interests of consumers.

“By working together, we can transform the relationships between consumers and providers to support consumers to get clear and useful information about the legal services they may need.”

Sharon Horwitz, a Director at the CMA, said:

“Consumers must have all the necessary information if they are to pick the right legal services provider to meet their needs, and today’s update is an important step towards ensuring this.

“Our investigation into the market found there wasn’t enough transparency of information, particularly around pricing and service quality. We proposed sector regulators take action to improve this and recommended the Legal Services Board take on oversight of this process.

“Today sees the result of their work – a statement outlining how regulators should make sure consumers have access to the information they need to shop around and choose the best provider for them. We hope this will put the power back in the hands of those who need legal advice.”

The statement draws on a wealth of evidence, including the LSB’s research, the CMA’s analysis, the LSB’s discussion paper on quality indicators, research with the LSB’s Public Panel, and contributions from stakeholders across the sector, including the regulators.

The statement and consultation response document are available on the LSB website.

Kindly shared by Legal Services Board (LSB)

Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay