Solicitors Regulation Authority publishes family law research
Almost half of consumers felt that firms' costs were ‘more than expected’
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has published independent research exploring the experiences of potentially vulnerable people using family law services.
Among those surveyed, most solicitors appear to be providing services in line with expected standards. One area where generally firms appear to be doing a good job is helping people to make choices about the services they need. Firms achieved this by, for example, training staff to receive initial calls, or setting up longer or free initial meetings. However, some concerns were expressed:
- Consumers reported issues with accessing the necessary information to make an informed choice when choosing a solicitor, particularly around cost and an individual solicitor's experience.
- Almost half (47 percent) of consumers felt that their solicitor's costs were more than expected. Of this group, two thirds said that their solicitor had not explained why the cost was higher.
- Ten percent of the consumers surveyed rated the service as 'very poor'.
- Consumers who were dissatisfied were unlikely to complain, because they were not aware of the process, concerned that it would affect their case or did not feel comfortable to complain.
Paul Philip, SRA Chief Executive, said:
"People who need to use family law services are often in particularly vulnerable situations. Situations such as divorce or child custody arrangements are highly emotional and stressful, and the consequences of poor legal services can be life changing.
"It is important that people can find services that meet their needs and that those services are affordable. This research is a contribution to understanding the current landscape and what more can be done to help."
Some of the findings around lack of information for consumers support the conclusions of the Competition and Markets Authority's report into the legal services market. The SRA has already begun work to see how better information could help people make more informed choices about the legal services they need. It also will carry out more work to determine the prevalence and impact of some of the issues outlined in the research.
The SRA says that it is responding to the findings of this research and the CMA report through its work, which includes the following activities:
- It is working on increasing the availability of data to people looking for or using legal services, as it wants to help people make informed choices about the legal services they need.
- It is conducting research into costs transparency and first tier complaints during 2017.
- It will be carrying out further work to determine the prevalence and impact of some of the issues outlined above. This is likely to involve visits to family law firms to understand how they provide and adapt their services to meet the needs of consumers who may be vulnerable.
For the report, click here.
2/3/17