Research-Strategy-Group-Note-23-Feb-2017

Research Strategy Group, Note of meeting 23rd February 2017

Present:

Caroline WallaceLSB

Steve BrookerLSB

Robert CrossLSB

Meera AminLSB

Nina Fletcher The Law Society

Oliver JacklingBSB

Debra MalpassSRA

Lola BelloLegal Services Consumer Panel

Chris Decker Centre for Socio-Legal Studies

Mari Sako Said Business School, University of Oxford

Apologies:

Terry Babbs LSB Board Member

Stephen Mayson

Steven Vaughan Birmingham Law School

Michelle Goddard Legal Services Consumer Panel

Item 1 – Research Update

RC provided the group with an update of what the research team have been up to since the last meeting:

Research currently in development includes Vulnerable Consumers, Investment, Understanding Changes in Prices of Legal Services, and Small Business Legal Needs.

a)The Vulnerable Consumers research – focussing on individuals with mental health problems and dementia – is expected to be published in Q1 2017/18.

b)For the Investment Research – the LSB launched a survey of Alternative Business Structures (ABS) running from December to February 2017.

c)For the Prices research, fieldwork had started and is due to close at the end of March. The analysis and reporting will be done in-house.

d)The Small Business research will be an update of the research undertaken in 2015 with analysis and reporting being done in-house.

Item 2 – Dissemination Activity

RC provided the group with an update on dissemination activities since the last meeting:

LSB research has been extensively used by the CMA in its final report. This includes the LSBs Individual Consumers Legal Needs (2016), Prices of Individual Consumer Legal Services (2016), Small Business Legal Needs (2015) and Market Evaluation (2016).

CW presented research findings at the Notary Training Conference in October and the Westminster Policy Forum in January.

The LSB has written 3 articles related to research findings. RC wrote an article to promote the Investment research work for Modern Law Magazine and his 2015 interview was published in the Voices of Modern Regulation section of Democratizing Legal Services: Obstacles and Opportunities book. Chris Nichols wrote an article on Unregulated Providers for Modern law Magazine.

Item 3 – Investment Research: ABS Survey

RC detailed the progress of the survey of ABS. The survey had 224 responses to date – 1 in 4 ABSs. RC also presented some of the findings so far and thegroup discussed the findings.Final results will be weighted by Licensing Body type and published late April/early May in the Investment Research report.

Item 4 – SRA Behavioural Insights Research

DM gave a presentation on ‘Applying Behavioural Insights to Legal Regulation’ –an introduction to behavioural economics, common biases and nudging, its applications and examples of behavioural insights and theSRA’s current and future research in this area. Future applications included operations (cost recovery letters and decision making), cybercrime, understanding consumer behaviours and understanding solicitors and firms’ behaviours.

Item 5 – Measuring Market Change Following the CMA Report

SB presented a table of indicators of evidence of market change that could be used to measure market change following the CMA report. The table included sources within current and future LSB and LSCP research which could be used as indicators. The group discussed this as an approach to measuring market change.

Item 5 – Any other business