Large-scale national surveys of the public’s experience of civil legal problems have become a standard means used to investigate the public’s experience of legal issues, processes and institutions. Since the mid-1990s, at least 26 large-scale national ‘legal needs’ surveys have been conducted in at least 15 separate jurisdictions, frequently with the aim of informing access to justice policy. Momentum has been fuelled by reform to established civil legal aid schemes, such as in England and Wales (Lord Chancellor’s Department 1998, Legal Services Commission 2006, Ministry of Justice 2010), the introduction and expansion of civil legal aid in countries such as Bulgaria (Legal Aid Act, 2005), Moldova (Legal Aid Act, 2007) and Taiwan (Legal Aid Act, 2004), and broader political concerns around the rule of law and access to justice. Importantly, however, despite significant public investment in ‘legal need’ surveys, relatively little is known about the extent to which they have actually been used in policy making.
In this paper we review recent legal needs surveys worldwide before setting out empirical findings that shed light on their influence on access to justice policy. In doing so, it presents some cost-effective methods for assessing the contribution of research to policy. Specifically, we explored the use of ‘legal needs’ survey findings in official government publications in England and Wales, conducted qualitative interviews with policy stakeholders in the United Kingdom and surveyed stakeholders internationally (in England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). The paper sets out when and how surveys have been used (and misused in the view of some respondents), their specific impact on policy and the key challenges that remain for research (including for research that aims to assess policy impact).