Reframing justice – talking differently

In October, immediate past-president Lubna Shuja outlined the work the Law Society has been doing in partnership with FrameWorks UK – a not-for-profit research organisation which specialises in communicating about social issues in ways that create change – for 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.

How we talk about law and justice in England and Wales matters. The ideas we share – and how we share them – shape how our actions, our clients and how our profession is seen and understood.

The solicitor profession has a duty to protect the justice system and uphold the rule of law. 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 Reframing Justice programme is a key part of how we meet this challenge.

We are working with FrameWorks UK to understand how people across England and Wales think about the rule of law and access to justice – and what narratives and frames will build public support for an accessible, well-resourced and truly independent justice system.

We are now halfway there.

Phase one

In phase one of the programme, FrameWorks UK identified how the public think about the rule of law and access to justice and what mindsets underlie these views.

Mindsets are deep, assumed patterns of thinking that shape how we see the world and how we act within it. Mindsets can either normalise or problematise aspects of the existing social order.

Understanding mindsets means we can understand how people think – and what understanding is still to build.

We found key tensions between how experts in the field of law and justice and the wider public understand the rule of law and access to justice.

For example, experts focus on what the rule of law and access to justice make possible: as ideas and practices that underpin and create balance within our social, political and economic systems. In contrast, the wider public focus on what the rule of law and access to justice prevent: as things that hold back chaos and disorder.

Crime and punishment dominate public thinking on justice – and make it harder to see the social, political and economic function of the rule of law and access to justice. When people are thinking in this way, ‘justice’ is limited to reactive retribution – and punishment after the fact.

Further, while both experts and the public recognise that money shapes access to justice, the public prioritise individual wealth (and the ability to afford a solicitor) over public funding for legal support and services – and collective investment in our justice system.

Full findings are available on our website.

Phase two

This is just the start of the programme. In the next phase, we will develop and test new ways to communicate about the rule of law and access to justice.

We want to bridge the gaps in understanding between experts and the wider public – and build support for policies that ensure the justice system is protected and applies to everyone equally.

We will update our members after we complete this next phase.

Nick Emmerson is president of the Law Society. Tamsyn Hyatt is director of evidence at FrameWorks UK