Mark McLaren and Adam Cooper have recently completed their terms with the LSCP. In this valedictory blog they reflect on legal consumers, regulators and the changes they’ve seen.
When we started on the Panel, the hot topic was competition. The Competition and Markets Authority’s study of the legal services market had not long been published, with recommendations to improve things for consumers through transparent pricing, providing data for comparison tools and publication of complaints data. Six years on and progress has been limited, to put it politely. These are not radical changes that are difficult to implement. Similar service industries such as dentists and funerals have shown that competition can benefit consumers and allow the best providers to prosper.
Fast forward six years, through Brexit, Covid and the cost of living crisis, and access to legal services has moved towards the top of Panel’s agenda. Cuts to both Legal Aid and the funding of the justice system more widely have led to many consumers being unable to afford or even find the legal help that they need. We believe access to justice to be not just a human right but also a sign of a civilised society, and hope that politicians, regulators and professional bodies treat it with the importance it deserves.
One of the ways to improve access to justice is through technology. It has been tremendously encouraging to see the growth of lawtech, and some of the Panel’s most exciting and positive meetings have been with innovative start-ups looking to use AI and other cutting edge technologies to lower the cost and broaden the availability of legal services. But while lawtech may be a solution, it is not the solution. While the Panel’s annual tracker surveys showed a relatively painless shift towards online legal advice during the pandemic, later surveys also showed a clear preference by many for face-to-face advice.
The Panel has worked hard to focus regulators’ activities towards consumers. With multiple frontline regulators, professional bodies and the Legal Services Board to cover we have been stretched thinly, but have used our unique position in the regulatory landscape to convene, cajole and sometimes convince. Special praise must go to our outgoing Chair, the indefatigable and forthright Sarah Chambers, and the hyper-efficient and knowledgeable Secretariat team of Lola Bello and Heidi Evelyn. Between them they have maximised the bangs generated from our limited bucks.
The very basis of legal services is the close and trusting relationship between provider and consumer. The need for a strong consumer voice in the development, execution and evaluation of legal services regulation is as great now as it was when we joined, and we wish Tom Hayhoe and the Panel every success in the future.
Blog by Adam Cooper and Mark McLaren, former Legal Services Consumer Panel Members