This paper summarises the results of the Survey of Court Lawyers. The research aimed to better understand lawyers’ experience of services and facilities the Ministry of Justice provides, to help us improve our services and facilities.
Methodology
The survey questions were based on the services and facilities questions used in the 2010 Court User Survey (Ministry of Justice, 2010), which included the standardised Common Measurement Tool questions about the quality of service. The survey asked lawyers about the court they most often visited, even though most lawyers would be familiar with more than one court. Some questions, where specific detail was required (e.g. waiting time), asked about lawyers last visit or interaction, while questions asked about their visits/interactions in general (e.g. overall satisfaction). The majority of questions were tick box style. Free-text questions were used to capture lawyers concerns with services and facilities, as the Ministry was interested in what it can do to improve these.
68% of responses were about lawyers’ experiences at the District Court and 21% at the High Court. The majority of lawyers were familiar with the court buildings they responded about, with a quarter (28%) visiting four to five times a week and another third (34%) visiting one to three times a week.
LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH: The response rate for this survey was 39%, which is reasonably good for an online survey. However, the majority of court lawyers in our sample did not complete the survey so the results only reflect the experiences, behaviours and opinions of those who did. They may not be representative of court lawyers as a whole.
Key Results
- Overall satisfaction with court services and facilities was high (76%), although satisfaction varied significantly between courts.
- “Good” ratings for individual court facilities varied from 74% for the court rooms/hearing rooms to less than 50% for toilets and interview rooms.
- Most lawyers (87%) were satisfied with the service they received at counters in general and 75% were contacted back the last time they left a telephone message.
- Most lawyers (80%) usually felt safe at court.
- Most lawyers (78%) used the main Ministry of Justice website to obtain information.
- Some respondents raised concerns about some court facilities and aspects of service.