*/
Legal regulators should learn lessons from others to make services more accessible for consumers, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has suggested.
In the report – Lowering barriers to accessing services: lessons from other sectors – the regulator said that outside the legal services market there have been significant resources and effort devoted to making services more accessible.
It pointed particularly to the financial services, healthcare and utilities arenas and suggested that there were ‘lessons to take’ from these sectors.
The LSB looked at three core areas, other than cost, that act as barriers to accessing legal services – inaccessible language and communications, lack of trust and a failure to cater for the needs of vulnerable consumers.
It called on regulators to develop simple, plain English guides that explain regulation to consumers, develop logos and other visual representations for providers to use to denote regulation, and to embed the importance of consumer vulnerability within their work.
LSB chief executive, Neil Buckley, said: ‘We know that a high proportion of consumers with a legal problem do not seek legal advice. Many of the barriers experienced are not unique to legal services.
‘We hope that approved regulators will have regard to the themes in this report and use lessons learned in other sectors in their own existing and planned initiatives.’
Legal regulators should learn lessons from others to make services more accessible for consumers, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has suggested.
In the report – Lowering barriers to accessing services: lessons from other sectors – the regulator said that outside the legal services market there have been significant resources and effort devoted to making services more accessible.
It pointed particularly to the financial services, healthcare and utilities arenas and suggested that there were ‘lessons to take’ from these sectors.
The LSB looked at three core areas, other than cost, that act as barriers to accessing legal services – inaccessible language and communications, lack of trust and a failure to cater for the needs of vulnerable consumers.
It called on regulators to develop simple, plain English guides that explain regulation to consumers, develop logos and other visual representations for providers to use to denote regulation, and to embed the importance of consumer vulnerability within their work.
LSB chief executive, Neil Buckley, said: ‘We know that a high proportion of consumers with a legal problem do not seek legal advice. Many of the barriers experienced are not unique to legal services.
‘We hope that approved regulators will have regard to the themes in this report and use lessons learned in other sectors in their own existing and planned initiatives.’
The Chair of the Bar reports back
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, explains how global events can influence the performance of pensions and ISAs, and why taking a long-term approach to investing is often the most effective strategy
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, discusses what family law professionals need to know about hallucinogens, from the main hallucinogenic drugs encountered in family proceedings, to their effects and the testing options available
Harmony Christian Ministries is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Developing a tech start-up demands a different definition of excellence to the Bar, says Saara Idelbi. The co-creator of Advocatr on entrepreneurship, AI advocacy training, and matching the thrill of a killer cross-examination
At the start of her term, Chair of the Bar 2026 Kirsty Brimelow KC set out a series of priorities for the year ahead. One of those priorities was children in the justice system
As the world becomes more digital, Barbara Vinagre Mota examines international research into the mental health consequences of judges’ exposure to graphic and immersive evidence, highlighting the importance of support systems
Reviewed by Daniel Barnett
James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain until 27 September Rothko in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi until 23 August Reviewed by Stephen Cragg KC
