Trust in Legal Profession Generally High – Confidence in Firms’ Handling of Complaints Lacking
This latest tracker survey, conducted for the Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP) for the third time by M·E·L Research, involved over 3,600 adults who had used legal services in the past two years.
Notably, the percentage of consumers shopping around for a law firm has risen again following a decline last year. Additionally, satisfaction with legal services has reached a record high of 87%.
However, only 51% of dissatisfied consumers knew how to lodge a complaint with their law firms, with 28% unsure and 21% unaware of the process. These figures have remained largely unchanged from the previous year. While a slight majority knew how to file a complaint, only 48% indicated they would actually do so.
For the first time, the we explored why consumers might refrain from complaining to their law firms. A third cited a lack of trust in the provider’s ability to handle the complaint properly, 32% believed it would be too time-consuming, and 28% feared it might increase their bill. We also inquired as to what factors could boost trust in their lawyers. The most popular responses were having a specialist lawyer, followed by the legal profession being regulated, clear communication from the lawyer, meeting the lawyer in person, and positive reviews.
Approximately 73% of respondents reported trusting lawyers to tell the truth (with only 8% not), compared to 84% for doctors. Trust was higher among older people, white respondents, and those with qualifications.
When asked to describe lawyers and the legal profession, consumers most frequently used the terms professional (65%) and knowledgeable (57%). However, 12% found lawyers difficult to understand, and 10% viewed them as self-interested. Only 19% believed lawyers offer good value for money, with women being more negative than men.
The proportion of consumers shopping around for a law firm increased from 39% last year to 41%. The percentage of consumers who found it easy to compare prices rose slightly to 68%, as did the percentage who felt they had a choice of legal services provider (82%) and those who found it easy to understand the cost of their legal service (78%).
When selecting a law firm, the top five factors were reputation (88%), price (84%), specialism (82%), speed of delivery (78%), and local offices/convenience (75%). Seven out of 10 consumers rated the overall service and advice they received as “good or very good value for money,” up from 68% last year, matching the record set in 2022.
Traditional methods of finding a lawyer remain prevalent, led by previous use by a family member, followed by recommendations from family and friends. The use of the internet remained steady at 11%.
The end of the pandemic saw an increase in consumers receiving their legal service primarily through face-to-face advice, up to 45%, returning to pre-Covid levels. This varied significantly by service type, with 67% of consumers using face-to-face interactions for wills, compared to only 24% for conveyancing. Seven out of 10 consumers agreed that digital access to services would make them easier to fit into their schedule, and 68% felt it would make legal services more accessible. However, there was a four percentage point increase to 56% in consumers who said they would trust legal services less if only available digitally, highlighting a barrier to widespread adoption of online services.
Consumer satisfaction with legal services reached an all-time high of 87% this year, up from 85%.
Tom Hayhoe, chair of the LSCP, remarked:
“Consumers need to have confidence that when something goes wrong, there is a clear and simple route to complain. Our research shows this isn’t the case. Only half of consumers know how to complain. Another significant proportion feel they cannot raise complaints with their legal professionals because they do not trust them to handle it properly, in a timely manner or without charging more. Legal services providers need to improve their processes for handling complaints, and do so quickly. Clear routes and speedy resolution of complaints are the minimum.”
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