The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has published the results of a programme of research, which Economic Insight undertook in 2022, to support the Year 3 Evaluation of its Transparency Rules. The overarching objective of the Transparency Rules is to “make sure that people have accurate and relevant information about a solicitor or firm when they are considering purchasing legal services, which will help members of the public and small businesses make informed choices and improve competition in the legal services market”.

The objectives of the research programme were to consider whether the Transparency Rules are leading to the desired outcomes and impacts. To do this, we conducted extensive primary and secondary research between June and September 2022, involving over 3,000 participants. This included online surveys and in-depth interviews with: SRA-regulated firms; unregulated firms; and customers of legal services (both individual consumers and firms).