Small Business Framework - Research - The Legal Services Board
Small Business Framework - Research - The Legal Services Board
Small Business Framework - Research - The Legal Services Board
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"<br />
1" "<br />
"<br />
Introduction"<br />
"<br />
"<br />
This"report"sets"out"a"framework"for"benchmarking"small"business"consumers’"<br />
need" for" and" use" of" legal" services." <strong>The</strong>" framework" will" contribute" to" the" <strong>Legal</strong>"<br />
<strong>Services</strong>" <strong>Board</strong>’s" broad" objective" of" establishing" a" basis" for" monitoring" the"<br />
impact" of" reform" on" the" accessibility" of," and" confidence" in," legal" services." Our"<br />
recommendations" are" framed" by" the" OXERA" segmentation" model" of" the" legal"<br />
services" sector" (OXERA" 2011)," to" facilitate" the" identification" of" remaining"<br />
information"gaps.""<br />
"<br />
Basic!Approach:!A!Tradition!of!Surveys!<br />
While"we"discuss"a"variety"of"approaches"to"assessing"the"accessibility"of"legal"<br />
services,"the"framework"we"set"out"in"this"report"is"grounded"in"the"tradition"of"<br />
‘legal"need’"surveys"that"originated"in"the"United"States’"recession"of"the"1930s."<br />
Over"the"years"such"surveys"have"been"set"within"an"increasingly"sophisticated"<br />
understanding" of" the" need" for" legal"<br />
services" (Pleasence" et" al." 2001),"<br />
although" the" concept" of" legal" need"<br />
remains" contested." <strong>The</strong>" most" recent"<br />
surveys"are"commonly"centred"upon"<br />
the"identification"of,"and"investigation"of"responses"to,"‘justiciable’"issues."<strong>The</strong>se"<br />
are"defined"by"Genn"(1999,"p.12)"as"matters"that"raise"legal"issues,"“whether"or"<br />
not"[they"are]"recognised"as"being"legal"and"whether"or"not"any"action"taken"…"<br />
involve[s]"the"use"of"any"part"of"the"…"justice"system.”""<br />
<strong>The</strong>" first" legal" need" surveys," conducted" in" New" Haven" and" Hartford,"<br />
Connecticut,"explored"the"need"for"and"use"of"legal"services"by"both"the"‘resident"<br />
public’"and"‘business"public’"(Clark"and"Corstvet"1938)."<strong>The</strong>"surveys"gave"a"first"<br />
empirical" insight" into" the" extent" to" which" people" and" businesses" experienced"<br />
legal"matters,"and"were"reported"to"have"indicated"the"“failure"of"the"lawyer"to"<br />
meet"the"social"needs"which"justify"the"existence"of"[the]"profession”"(p.1275)."<br />
Residents" were" found" to" have" experienced" an" average" of" 0.76" legal" matters"<br />
during" the" preceding" year," of" which" 35%" led" to" outside" advice" being" obtained"<br />
(generally" from" attorneys)." <strong>Business</strong>es" were" found" to" have" experienced" many"<br />
more"matters,"at"an"average"of"3.97"per"business,"but"obtained"outside"advice"in"<br />
relation"to"a"lesser"proportion"(18%).""<br />
" In" the" decades" immediately" following" these" first" legal" need" surveys"<br />
relatively"few"empirical"studies"were"undertaken."However,"interest"grew"in"the"<br />
1960s" and" 1970s," stimulated" by" President" Johnson’s" ‘War" on" Poverty’." Since"<br />
!<br />
!<br />
!<br />
A"tradition"of"‘legal"need’"<br />
surveys"originated"in"the"<br />
recession"of"the"1930s!<br />
! 1!