Quality assurance schemes have little impact on how people choose lawyers, government research has suggested.

A NOP survey of 1,060 consumers who had recently needed legal services found that Law Society and Legal Services Commission (LSC) quality marks influenced the choice of lawyer in just 1% of transactions.


The findings were in a Department for Constitutional Affairs' scoping study on taking forward research into how consumers can identify quality in legal services. It said: 'Besides LSC requirements for would-be contractors, Law Society panel membership appears to be only a weak signal of quality at the moment.'


The survey uncovered evidence that solicitors are not complying with their duty to provide costs estimates - just 29% received a quote when they engaged their lawyer.


It said the problem is that consumers are poorly placed to distinguish one lawyer's service from another. It suggested more use could be made of complaints records.


Law Society chief executive Janet Paraskeva said: 'Accreditation schemes are an important element of the Society's commitment to quality assurance of solicitors. We have recently developed some easily recognisable logos to help identify panel members.


'This brand identification is beginning to be used more widely to help identify accredited solicitors; it is about to appear in the Yellow Pages and we have more plans to help the public recognise and seek out the brand as a mark of quality.'


An Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) spokeswoman welcomed the research. 'It's vital that people understand the nature of any kitemark,' she said. APIL will shortly launch a campaign to urge clients only to use law firms it has endorsed.


However, Karen Mackay, chief executive of Resolution - whose family law accreditation scheme was overlooked by the study - said she found it disappointing and unfocused. She said: 'There is interesting work to be done, but I don't think they've done their groundwork. Making policy on the hoof in this area is a real risk.'


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