Legal advice: People worried about the cost
Half of people have experienced a legal problem in the previous 18 months but only 5% of them went to a solicitors’ firm for help to deal with it, major government research has shown.
Outside of family law, those who had a problem with neighbours or with their house were most likely to seek legal advice, with people more than three times as likely to go to another adviser, such as their local council, Citizens Advice or a trade union.
The Legal Problem and Resolution Survey, which surveyed 10,324 people in 2023, measured people’s experiences of everyday problems that may have a legal solution through the courts and tribunal system.
It was conducted by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), with polling company Ipsos Mori, and published just before Christmas to help inform policy making – a decade after the last one.
Half of all respondents reported having had at least one problem in the 18 months before interview (52% of this group had experienced multiple problems). This was more than the 2014/15 survey, although the MoJ acknowledged that “not all problems are equal”.
Indeed, only 11% of people perceived their problem as a legal problem at the outset, while 24% rated it as being very serious, which influenced the action they then took.
Younger people, those from ethnic minority backgrounds, adults with long-term health conditions, adults on means-tested benefits, and single parents were more vulnerable to legal problems and their effects.
Three-quarters of people with a legal problem sought some form of advice, with 9% obtaining formal legal help – made up of solicitors’ firms (5%), Civil Legal Advice (ie legal aid) (2%), law centres (1%) and barristers (1%).
Those with a relationship breakdown problem were, by some margin, the most likely to have obtained legal advice (43%), followed by people who had a problem with a property they owned (23%), accident or illness (14%), rented property (12%) and education and benefits (both 10%).
Nearly a third (32%) obtained help from another adviser and 44% sourced their own information from the internet, leaflets, family or friends, or even the party on the other side of the problem. Those with a consumer problem tended to be most likely to rely on self-help alone (70%).
A key barrier to seeking advice or help from a solicitor or barrister was (perceived) cost, cited by 30% as a reason for not using them, rising to 49% amongst the lowest income households.
More than half (57%) of those who had used a solicitor said this had helped resolve or reduce the problem, but 26% said it made no difference and 4% thought it had made matters worse.
“This could indicate several issues around people’s ability to locate and connect to the right sources at the right time, the mode and delivery of advice, and/or the ability of advisors to help with entrenched issues that may have progressed to crisis,” the MoJ said.
Just 5% of respondents with legal problems used the court and tribunal system to help resolve them. Around one in seven considered but eventually decided against taking a problem to court, with the expense of a lawyer (29%), the prospect being too stressful (28%) and court fees being too high (25%) the main reasons.
YouGov also polled views on online court services. While 64% were happy with online services, 53% still preferred a face-to-face hearing.
Researchers said the findings were in line with previous legal needs surveys and highlighted the need to focus on “possible areas where interventions could reduce people experiencing multiple problems, such as where problems are likely to cluster (experiencing a relationship breakdown or accident problem)”.
Raising awareness of what constituted a legal problem itself, “or particular routes to resolution, like mediation”, would also help, as would more support and engagement for those who need it to access modernised court and tribunal services.
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