News from Legal Choices

More than 1.3 million visit Legal Choices website

A website dedicated to providing the public with easy-to-understand information on legal services and providers has been visited more than 1.3 million times in the past 12 months alone.

Videos linking to legalchoices.org.uk have also been watched more than 1.7 million times while more than 400,000 people have visited the site for information about lawyer disciplinary records. These statistics are among the achievements highlighted in the 2021-22 Legal Choices annual report.

Operated in partnership by seven legal services regulators in England and Wales, the Legal Choices website and Facebook page provide independent, factual information designed to help the public and small businesses. Content is based around common legal issues and designed to help visitors understand more about the given issues, their rights and options, and the types of legal advisers available to them.

Features which have proven particularly successful over the past year include:

  • An online eviction support tool which uses chat-like technology to provide information on the eviction process and potentially related legal scenarios.
  • An interactive quiz, visited more than 80,000 times, which helps people understand issues and legal options relating to potential workplace discrimination.
  • An online dictionary which explains common legal terms and phrases in plain English – which has been accessed more than 1.5 million times since 2020.

Howard Dellar, Chair, Legal Choices Governance Board, said: ‘The growth we're seeing in our reach and in the quality of users' engagement with Legal Choices content is encouraging and shows that Legal Choices is meeting a need. We remain focused on developing our understanding of information gaps when people are thinking about accessing legal services. We believe that is the key to ensuring Legal Choices continues to play a helpful role.’

Originally launched in 2014, the site – and range of information available on it – has expanded rapidly in recent years. As the site now moves into the final year of its current 2020-2023 programme, work will continue to expand its audience and the depth and quality of its content offering.

Legal Choices is delivered by the Solicitors Regulation Authority on behalf of CILEx Regulation, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the Intellectual Property Regulation Board, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Faculty Office and the Costs Lawyer Standards Board, who all fund the website. We benefit from input from the Legal Services Consumer Panel and the Legal Ombudsman.

Use www.sra.org.uk/legal-choices-report-2021-22 to link to this page.