Alternative Funding Models for Free Legal Advice

On Monday 1st July 2024 the Access to Justice Foundation and the Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies convened a stakeholder engagement workshop on funding models for free legal advice. Funding for free legal advice continues to be a critical social, economic and political issue following the significant reduction in legal aid in the aftermath of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, a decade of austerity policies,  capacity building problems within organisations offering free legal advice, and new challenges in need and demand following the pandemic, and energy and cost of living crisis.

Working together to promote national debate on the topic, the Access to Justice Foundation and Centre for Socio-Legal Studies argue that there is a need to explore additional funding models and solutions, outside what we are currently collectively using.  Their goal is to prompt debate about a portfolio of potential solutions to support a more sustainable future for free legal advice provision. The drivers for this include the growing demand for services and unmet legal need, the reduction in resource base for free legal advice,  and the potential of unexplored international examples of alternative funding models.

Following the workshop Clare Carter, Director of the Access to Justice Foundation said:

We recognise the need to explore innovative funding models that can supplement existing resources for free legal advice. By diversifying our approach, we aim to build a more robust financial foundation that will allow us to bridge the growing gap between legal need and available resources, empowering more people, places, and communities in need to assert their rights and resolve their legal issues.

Both the last government and the new one led by Labour have expressed a keen interest in finding alternatives to the current situation.  The seminar considered two of the models that have been considered alongside three others. These are:

• Levies on large commercial law firms;
• Unclaimed damages in collective action litigation;
• Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTA);
• Legal Expenses insurance, and
• Use of the apprenticeship levy

Reflecting on the value and challenges posed by each scheme Professor Linda Mulcahy, Director of the Oxford Centre for Socio-Legal Studies said:

We are keen to ensure that whatever solutions to the current crisis are discussed are evidence based.  This is an excellent example of the role that socio-legal scholars can play in identifying what works. In this instance there is a need to take into account the needs of a range of stakeholders including those with unmet legal need, the legal profession, law centres and the advice sector, regulators and senior civil servants including those from the Treasury.

The Access to Justice Foundation and the Centre are currently waiting for the outcome of a research grant application to further this initiative.  In the meantime, they have drafted a report of the July workshop which can be found here.