Small Business Framework - Research - The Legal Services Board

usinesses"face,"their"relative"frequency"and"common"forms"of"response"to"them"
(and"how"these"vary"by,"for"example,"business"type).""
Importantly," these" surveys," along" with" the" recent" BIS" Small" Business"
Survey" (IFF" Research" 2011)" have" demonstrated" that" while" the" use" of" legal"
services"is"routine"for"some"businesses,"it"is"unusual"for"many."Much"of"the"time"
this"will"reflect"a"lack"of"need,"or"a"rational"choice"of"approach."However,"just"as"
with" individuals," it" seems" clear" that" some" businesses" do" not" make" use" of" legal"
services"because"they"do"not"recognise"the"need,"or"are"unable,"to"do"so."As"we"
observed" in" the" previous" section," small" businesses," in" particular," are" often"
ignorant"of"and"resistant"to"legal"regulations"(Blackburn"and"Hart"2002,"Bacon"
and"Hoque"2005,"SBRC"2008)."Also,"to"apply"Felstiner,"Abel"and"Sarat’s"(1981)"
framework" for" understanding" the" emergence" and" transformation" of" disputes,"
businesses" have" hurdles" to" overcome" in" naming," blaming" and" claiming" in"
relation"to"the"resolution"of"injurious"experiences."
Surveys"of"those"running"businesses"represent"the"only"means"to"capture"
information" about" justiciable" problems" that" are" not" conceived" as" legal," do" not"
involve"advice"and"do"not"involve"formal"process."
However," it" is" to" be" recognised" that" surveys" have" many" limitations," not"
least"of"which"is"that"they"rely"on"people’s"memories,"which"are"demonstrably"
unreliable." This" is" particularly" so" in" relation" to" less" salient" events" (e.g."
Tourangeau,"Rips"and"Rasinski"2000)"and"the"particular"details"of"routine"events"
(e.g."Thompson,"Skowronski,"Larsen"and"Betz"1996)."Thus,"in"the"context"of"the"
Civil"and"Social"Justice"Survey"it"has"been"demonstrated"that"some"less"serious"
and" commonplace" justiciable" issues" are" quickly" forgotten," while" only" the" most"
memorable"(such"as"divorce)"are"reliably"recalled"over"reasonable"periods"time"
(Pleasence,"Balmer"and"Tam"2009).""
In" addition," survey" results" can" be" distorted" by" ‘telescoping’," the" social"
desirability"of"particular"answers"and"satisficing"behaviour."And"this"is"on"top"of"
the" methodological" challenges" of" creating" clear," unambiguous," conceptually"
valid,"reliable"and"appropriately"framed"questions."
In" the" context" of" this" study," it" also" needs" to" be" recognised" that" the"
development" of" a" business" oriented" legal" need" survey" faces" novel" challenges,"
compared" with" individual" oriented," legal" need" surveys." For" example,"
constructing" a" sample" frame" of" small" businesses" with" good" coverage" is" not"
straightforward." Also," the" challenge" of" selling" surveys" to" businesses" is" rather"
different" to" that" of" selling" surveys" to" individuals." Furthermore," the" size" and"
structure"of"businesses"can"make"selection"of"appropriate"respondents"difficult."
Nevertheless," surveys" remain" at" the" heart" of" social" science" and" policy"
research" owing" to" their" ability" to" obtain" comprehensive" quantitative" data"
directly" from" source." A" ‘legal" need’" survey" of" small" businesses" is" consequently"
the" best" option" for" the" Legal" Services" Board" to" benchmark" small" business"
consumers’"need"for"and"use"of"legal"services."
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