Research finds people largely positive with civil legal assistance services during the pandemic

Satisfaction with the services and support received by civil legal aid providers remains high, despite the constraints of Covid-19.

This is a finding from surveys we commissioned during 2021-22 of clients of private practice civil legal aid firms and of the Civil Legal Aid Office (CLAO) clients and contacts.

Overall, 86% of those who had legal assistance from a private practice solicitor felt the overall service they received from their solicitor was good. Amongst CLAO clients, 84% rated the service they had from the CLAO as good.

CLAO clients were generally more positive than CLAO contacts. This includes their experience before contacting CLAO; with contacts more likely to have contacted multiple other solicitors beforehand.

The survey findings give us useful information on the experiences of these groups. The CLAO survey will also contribute to the Strategic Plan for the CLAO.

Research briefings on findings from the surveys are available on our research page.