NCJ Number
75335
Journal
Yale Law Journal Volume: 90 Issue: 1 Dated: (November 1980) Pages: 122-164
Date Published
1980
Length
43 pages
Annotation
The article analyzes the results of a national survey conducted between 1973 and 1974 by the American Bar Association and the American Bar Foundation focusing on factors affecting the use of legal services in the United States.
Abstract
The legal profession has become increasingly concerned with the unmet legal needs of the public. Several types of alternative legal delivery systems have been devised to meet these needs. However, knowledge of determinants of lawyer use has been insufficiently developed to permit evaluation of these alternatives. This survey provides the best quantitative data to date regarding legal problems and lawyer use. Data consisted of results from interviews of a national survey of 2,064 adults. All respondents were asked approximately 170 questions each regarding their use of and attitudes toward lawyers, as well as social and economic background information. Linear regression and cross-tabulation were employed to measure the relative strengths of seven possible explanations of lawyer use. Empirical analysis suggests that experience, property ownership, and personal contacts with lawyers are the most important determinants of lawyer use. The last factor, personal contacts, is relevant in the evaluation of the alternative delivery systems studied. The delivery methods of closed-panel prepaid plans and legal clinics offer the greatest promise for fulfilling unmet legal needs of the public. The legal profession should remove the remaining impediments to their development. Footnotes are given, and survey data and information are appended.