New qualitative research commissioned by the Legal Services Consumer Panel of England and Wales highlights that ethnic minority consumers have lower levels of satisfaction with legal services they have received. The report also suggests ways in which they can be improved.
The in-depth engagement with ethnic minority consumers shows that they want prompt, proactive and easy to understand communication from their lawyers. They want to feel that they can trust the person they choose to represent them. And most importantly, they want to feel heard and understood, something many ethnic minority consumers feel is currently lacking.
Key findings:
- Many ethnic minority consumers of legal services do not feel they are listened to, or that their specific needs are understood;
- Trust is an issue for many ethnic minority consumers; consequently reassurance, which may come from a variety of sources, is important;
- Receiving active and prompt communication goes a long way in building trust;
- Ethnic minority consumers are not a homogeneous group and they all think about legal services differently; some feel confident and knowledgeable about what they need, while others feel apprehensive and unsure of the process.