Reframing Justice – changing the story we tell

There are two stories being told about law and justice in England and Wales.

The first is a story of ‘lefty lawyers’ and, of ‘enemies of the people’ frustrating the will of parliament and endangering the national interest.

The second is a story of ministers undermining the rule of law and cuts to funding, over many years, until the justice system is at breaking point.

Which story – which way of seeing the world – will dominate the pre-election landscape – and shape the next five years – will depend on how well it is framed.

As solicitors and communicators, our words and language matter. Our frames matter. They shape how our actions, our clients, and our profession are seen and understood by the wider public and decision-makers.  

That is why, at the start of this year, the Law Society partnered with FrameWorks UK – a not-for-profit research organisation which specialises in how to frame important issues – to run our Reframing Justice programme.

The aim of this programme is to shape a long-term strategic communications approach to build public support and political will for ensuring the justice system is protected and applies to everyone equally.

The solicitor profession has a duty to protect the justice system and uphold the rule of law. But right now, both are under attack.

This broader challenge of defending and mobilising support for the values necessary to sustain and protect justice and the rule of law requires a different, ambitious and long-term approach.

The work the Law Society is doing with FrameWorks can help us meet this challenge.  

Together, we are working to understand how people across England and Wales currently think about the rule of law and access to justice. Based on this evidence, we will identify the narratives and frames that can build public support for a well-resourced, well-respected, and truly independent justice system. We are now halfway there.

What we have done so far

We have worked with policy and practitioner experts across the legal and justice sectors to identify a set of core ideas about the rule of law and access to justice: why these things matter, how they work, and how we can better uphold and protect them.

Through qualitative and quantitative research with a representative sample of voters in England and Wales, we have identified the mindsets the public currently hold on these issues.

Mindsets are more than people’s surface attitudes or opinions. They are the deep, enduring patterns of thinking that shape how we all understand our world.

Understanding mindsets means our communications can build on an evidence base of insights, focusing on what works to build understanding and support. It also helps identify what to avoid and what backfires, what inadvertently reinforces negative narratives that make it harder for us to meet our mission to protect the justice system.  

For example, we have identified a mindset that often guides thinking about the purpose of the rule of law: ‘Social Chaos Mindset: without laws, society would fall into disorder and confusion. Humans are naturally independent and self-interested – and so need organisation and rules to function well in community. When applied in talk, people position law as the only thing standing between society and chaos.’ (Mindsets on the Rule of Law and Access to Justice, 23 September.)

What’s next

We look forward to publishing the findings from the above research next month, showing what the public hear and understand when we communicate about the rule of law and access to justice, and most importantly what drives this.

Over the coming year, we will identify the frames that can help us bridge the gap between expert understanding and public mindsets. Getting better at closing this gap through the way we communicate about these issues, will enable us to build support for improving access to justice and upholding the rule of law, which is the ultimate goal of this programme of work.

We will then work with organisations across the wider legal and justice fields to share our findings – including our recommendations on how to make the case for strengthening the rule of law and improving access to justice.

If you would like to find out more, or would like to get involved, please get in touch with Sorana Vieru, head of campaigns at the Law Society, at Sorana.Vieru@lawsociety.org.uk.

Tamsyn Hyatt is director of evidence at FrameWorks UK. Lubna Shuja is president of the Law Society