A consumer impact report launched by the Legal Services Consumer Panel in March of this year has highlighted ongoing concerns about indicators of service quality provided by lawyers. The report highlights that 4 years after the publication of a CMA report that examined the difficulty for consumers in gauging the quality of legal services before purchasing, issues still remain.
The report highlights that the scarcity of quality indicators that lawyers and firms are required to publish negates much of the progress that has been made on price transparency. The report calls on regulators to act to build a common framework of quality indicators in order to improve consumer awareness.
Sarah Chambers, the chair of the panel said: “The sector must continue to focus on transparency as a regulatory tool that has the power to empower consumers and enhance effective choice and competition. I am still concerned that very little progress has been made towards establishing quality indicators, considering that we are now in the fourth year since the CMA identified a need.”
Download the full Legal Services Consumer Panel Consumer Impact Report in PDF.