Access to justice: People in legal difficulty are not getting the help they need.
In her latest blog our Chief Executive reports a call by the Legal Services Consumer Panel for action by regulators to improve access to justice.
Lisa Davis is Chief Executive at Citizens Advice Epsom & Ewell (3 minutes)
In addition to my role here at CAEE, I am also a panellist for the Legal Services Consumer Panel an independent arm of the Legal Services Board, set up to ensure the interests of legal services consumers are taken into account.
Last week I had the privilege of ‘wearing my two hats at once’ when the panel asked me to speak at the launch of the Regulatory Leadership on Access to Justice Report.
The Consumer Panel commissioned this report as we wanted action by legal services regulators to improve access to justice. To be specific, we want them to target their efforts on unmet legal need. The latest Individual Legal Needs Survey* shows 32% of people with a legal issue in England and Wales did not have it resolved.
Cause and consequence
Unfortunately, every day at CAEE we see clients with unmet legal or advice need. This can happen for a variety of reasons:
- they do not recognise they have such a need
- they are unable to access affordable advice, or
- they cannot access advice that serves their particular requirements.
At the launch, I provided a case study for each scenario and the sometimes negative consequences.
Most striking was the case of Neal, who as a result of a car accident, suffered memory loss. Prior to coming to see us, he had tried to obtain legal advice at a solicitor’s office. They advised on his particular needs but he felt rushed and humiliated by being asked to repeat himself. He left confused about what would happen next because he received nothing in writing.
The experience left Neal with a complete lack of trust in the legal system. As a result he suffered detriment through paying more for his insurance and not seeking advice about benefits entitlement. In consequence he had little money left and had begun to ration his food supplies by eating once a day.
For all advisers
The Access to Justice Report was researched and drafted by a team from Nottingham Law School namely Dr Liz Curran, Jane Ching and Jane Jarman. It provides an in-depth look at what we can learn from other jurisdictions and how we can work effectively through some short, medium and longer term actions to bring about real change for legal consumers.
These actions, while aimed at legal services regulators, impact all involved in providing advice including local charities such as ours.
There’s a lot we can all take away from the Report, so I would urge all in the advice sector to consider changes that could improve access to justice.
* Legal Needs of Individuals in England and Wales, Summary Report 2024. Jointly commissioned by The Legal Services Board and The Law Society. Find out more.