1. Research Strategy Group 13 September 2016

2. Agenda Research update LSB approaches to research Investment research
SRA research programme 2016/17
AOB
Legal Services Board

3. LSB Research update: 16-17 (1)
Published since last meeting:
Understanding changes in prices of legal services – measuring the impacts of reform
Key Regulatory Objective: promoting competition in the provision of services in the legal sector.
Researcher: OMB Research. To provide baseline data and enable prices to be tracked over time. Telephone interviews providing prices for five scenarios in each of three market segments: residential conveyancing; divorce; and wills, probate and estate administration, power of attorney.
Published 5th April.
Public Access Barristers (in partnership with Bar Standards Board) - measuring the impacts of reform
Key Regulatory Objective: Promoting competition in the provision of services
Researcher: Pye Tait Consulting. Purpose: to develop a better understanding of the operation of the Public Access arrangements, including information on the regulated community and their clients, impact on the regulatory objectives and barristers’ businesses, and perceptions of the regulatory framework.
Published 19th April
Large scale legal needs survey - in conjunction with TLS - consumers unmet legal needs
Key Regulatory Objective: improving access to justice
Researcher: Ipsos Mori. To understand how/if consumers response to legal problems
has changed between
Published 25th May 2016
These projects findings were used extensively in the market evaluation and by the CMA in their interim report.
Legal Services Board

4. LSB Research update: 16-17 (2)
Published since last meeting:
Unregulated Legal Services Providers – investigating regulation
Key Regulatory Objective: Protecting and promoting the interests of consumers
Researcher: Economic Insight.
Purpose: seeking to update and improve our understanding of unregulated legal services in three areas: will- writing and estate administration; family, intellectual property.
Published 28th June
Economic advice on the likely cumulative impacts of changes to regulation – measuring the impacts of reform
Key Regulatory Objective: Promoting competition in the provision of services
Researcher: Oxecon Economic Consultants.
To provide advice on the likely impacts of the 169 changes to regulation made by the approved regulators between 2010 and This is in absence of data necessary to quantify impacts.
Published 4th July
Market Evaluation – measuring the impacts of reform
Key regulatory objective: All
Researcher: In house
Purpose: Periodic evaluation of the changes in the legal services market since the Legal Services Act 2007 was passed, reviewing available evidence against the desired outcomes.
These projects findings were used extensively in the market evaluation and by the CMA in their interim report.
Legal Services Board

5. LSB Research update: 16-17 (3)
In development:
Vulnerable consumers research - Consumers unmet legal needs
Key Regulatory Objective: protecting and promoting the interests of consumers
A study to establish the experience of consumers in a defined range of vulnerable circumstances. Currently considering exploring two different personal characteristics: mental health and dementia/Alzheimer’s.
Investment research – measuring the impacts of reform
Key Regulatory Objective: promoting competition in the provision of services in the legal sector
Range of current sources of investment and investor community perceptions. Scoping paper shared internally, ideas explored in following slides.
Subject to discussions with Senior Management and Board
Understanding changes in prices of legal services – measuring the impacts of reform
Key Regulatory Objective: promoting competition in the provision of services in the legal sector.
Researcher: To update the 2015/16 survey. Survey will be undertaken externally, analysis and reporting to be done in house. Likely that work will start later in the year.
Small Business Legal Needs survey - Consumers unmet legal needs
Key Regulatory Objective: improving access to justice.
To update the 2015 survey and understand how small business consumers responses to legal problems has changed between
Researcher: Survey will be undertaken externally, with some analysis and reporting to be done in house. Likely that work will start later in the year.
Legal Services Board

6. Dissemination
Our research has been extensively used by the CMA in its interim report
The individual legal needs research was referred to in a Justice Select Committee hearing
LSB presented research at the following conferences since last meeting:
Robert Cross presented to the Professional Standards Authority Conference in March on the Market Evaluation framework;
Caroline Wallace presented to the OECD in June on the Innovation research.
Note: activity limited by local election and referendum purdah periods over the April to June period.
Legal Services Board

7. LSB approach to research 2016-17 onwards

8. LSB approach to research 2016-17 onwards
16/17 research budget reduced by 60%, to reduce overall LSB spending;
There remains a range of knowledge gaps to evidence our oversight of regulators’ activity and market outcomes;
Proposed approaches subject to discussions with Senior Management and Board:
Rescheduling research projects - we will bring forward some projects and delay others to manage within a reduced budget yet allowing us to prepare the next market evaluation in three years’ time;
Doing more in house work:
Training of research and other staff on research design and interview techniques for qualitative projects;
External expenditure reserved for fieldwork and sophisticated statistical analysis requiring expertise.
Making more of what we have:
Producing summaries and info graphics of existing research reports;
Undertaking furt.her analysis of existing data.
More partnership working:
Greater forward planning to allow us to start joint funding discussions earlier;
Joint funding opportunities to be discussed at regular CEO to CEO level, Director to Director between the LSB, regulators, and representative bodies;
Maximising the potential of regulators’ data returns.
Does this combination of approaches seem reasonable?
What risks are involved?
What other options are open to the LSB?
Legal Services Board

9. Research into investment in the legal sector

10. Investment
Provide information to allow us to make an assessment as to whether regulation is likely to be acting as a barrier to investment.
Specific objectives:
To identify the current levels and types of investments made in the sector, identify what investment has been used for, through collecting information from ABS;
To identify existing investors and establish what attracted them to the legal services market, through collecting views from those who have invested in the legal sector;
Identifying potential investors, and establish whether they considered investing in legal services, and what their reasons were for not doing so compared to other sectors, through collecting views from those who have not invested in the legal sector
Funding constraints mean this will be undertaken in house.
Proposed approach subject to discussions with Senior Management and Board representative:
Talk to each of the Licensing Authorities to gauge interest and input;
Hold a roundtable with stakeholders to seek views and test project approach (RSG members included);
Survey ABS organisations to establish levels of investment, uses of investment, and reasons for seeking external capital;
Undertake a small number (10-20) of semi structured interviews with individual investors who have invested;
Undertake a survey of the investor community to gauge views and levels of interest on investment in the legal sector;
Combine the outputs into one Evaluation report.
Thoughts on approach requested.
Suggestions for participants in the roundtable welcome.
Legal Services Board

11. SRA research update

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