The vast majority of clients are satisfied with their lawyer and happy for them to hold on to their money, the sector's consumer watchdog reported today.
The latest annual Legal Services Consumer Panel tracker survey recorded that satisfaction with the service provided by lawyers has increased this year to 87% - up from 85% last year and from 79% when the survey was first carried out in 2012.
Satisfaction with the outcome of the case is at 89% - the joint-highest it has ever been – and has risen in the past 12 years in every area of law.
More than 90% of survey respondents reported they were confident that the legal services provider they used would keep their money safe. Lawyers and banks were equally trusted.
The survey comes at a time when the Solicitors Regulation Authority is exploring whether client accounts should continue to exist, and the results suggest that there is little public clamour for third parties to be involved.
There were further positive signs about public perception in the legal profession: asked to describe words for lawyers, 65% said they were professional and 57% said knowledgeable. In contrast, 10% described lawyers as self-interested and 12% said they were difficult to understand.
Trust in the legal system is also at high levels (73%), with only 7% of respondents saying they distrust or strongly distrust the legal system.
The proportion of consumers whose services were delivered face-to-face was 45%, consistent with levels reported in the years before the pandemic. Most wanted a hybrid service, meeting lawyers in person initially and following up with email updates. The most common services to be delivered face-to-face were power of attorney and will writing.
More than four-fifths of consumers (82%) feel they have a choice of legal service – up from 80% last year. Back in 2012, the proportion reporting they had a choice of provider was just 66%. Around 40% choose their lawyers based on a recommendation from a family member of their own past experience. Just 3% chose their provider through a price comparison or customer review website.
Looking at funding, 73% of consumers funded their legal services themselves or with the help of family or friends, with this proportion having increased from 56% in 2012.
Despite largely positive results for the legal profession, the consumer panel highlighted what it perceived as failings in complaint-handling by law firms. Around half of consumers (51%) reported that they would know how to make a complaint about the legal services they used if they were dissatisfied, 28% were uncertain and 21% said they would not know how to do this. One third of consumers who knew how to complain said they would not go directly to the firm because they did not trust them to handle it properly, while a similar proportion felt it would take too long.
Tom Hayhoe, chair of the panel, said consumers need to have confidence that when something goes wrong there is a clear and simple route to complain, but that the research shows this is not the case.
He added: ‘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.’
The survey was based on responses from 3,633 legal services users who completed it online in February and March this year.
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