In the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of civil law cases filed across the country. At the same time, courts across the country have seen an increase in self-representing clients. Unprepared parties overburden America’s judicial system as courts must assist clients throughout their cases. Moreover, the lack of adequate legal assistance places a considerable strain on families. In the area of family law, failing to receive legal assistance can result in incorrect filings, dismissed cases, and undesired outcomes, worsening the consequences of family dissolution. Legal assistance programs can help unrepresented parties be better prepared for their cases. Among the biggest challenge of receiving legal aid however is simply not knowing what resources are available.
To gain a better understanding of how people learn about legal assistance programs in their community, my project explores the following question: “What factors influence people’s knowledge of legal assistance programs?” To conduct my study, I asked adults between the ages of 18-35 awaiting a custody trial at the Philadelphia Family Court to take part in a survey. Respondents were asked about their knowledge of legal assistance programs, factors that have been identified in the literature to influence people’s knowledge of legal aid programs, their perception of systemic barriers as it relates to obtaining legal assistance, as well as standard demographic questions. Three factors were found to significantly influence people’s knowledge of legal aid programs. First, most people who reported knowing about a legal aid program indicated cost was either extremely important or very important when deciding to obtain legal assistance. The more important they perceived cost to be, the more likely they were to know about legal aid. Second, most people that knew about legal aid programs indicated they were uncertain how the judge would rule on their case. People that were confident the judge would rule in their favor or in the other party’s favor were less likely to report knowing about legal aid. Lastly, people with internet access were more likely to report knowing about a legal assistance program than people without.
These results have numerous implications moving forward. Primarily, if the deduction that people derive their opinions regarding the cost of legal assistance from their assumptions is correct, then learning more about how people derive these assumptions can help in improving the marketing strategies of legal aid programs. Secondly, most people that knew about legal aid programs reported having a reliable internet connection at home. This seems to imply that increasing internet access could be a powerful tool in disseminating information about legal aid and similar programs. Lastly, it is evident further research in this area is necessary. Many factors identified in the literature as influencing people’s knowledge of legal aid programs were found to have no statistically significant effect. Follow-up research is also necessary to learn what factors encourage people to seek and receive aid after they learn about the existence of a legal aid organization.
In the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of civil law cases filed across the country. At the same time, courts across the country have seen an increase in self-representing clients. Unprepared parties overburden America’s judicial system as courts must assist clients throughout their cases. Moreover, the lack of adequate legal assistance places a considerable strain on families. In the area of family law, failing to receive legal assistance can result in incorrect filings, dismissed cases, and undesired outcomes, worsening the consequences of family dissolution. Legal assistance programs can help unrepresented parties be better prepared for their cases. Among the biggest challenge of receiving legal aid however is simply not knowing what resources are available.
To gain a better understanding of how people learn about legal assistance programs in their community, my project explores the following question: “What factors influence people’s knowledge of legal assistance programs?” To conduct my study, I asked adults between the ages of 18-35 awaiting a custody trial at the Philadelphia Family Court to take part in a survey. Respondents were asked about their knowledge of legal assistance programs, factors that have been identified in the literature to influence people’s knowledge of legal aid programs, their perception of systemic barriers as it relates to obtaining legal assistance, as well as standard demographic questions. Three factors were found to significantly influence people’s knowledge of legal aid programs. First, most people who reported knowing about a legal aid program indicated cost was either extremely important or very important when deciding to obtain legal assistance. The more important they perceived cost to be, the more likely they were to know about legal aid. Second, most people that knew about legal aid programs indicated they were uncertain how the judge would rule on their case. People that were confident the judge would rule in their favor or in the other party’s favor were less likely to report knowing about legal aid. Lastly, people with internet access were more likely to report knowing about a legal assistance program than people without.
These results have numerous implications moving forward. Primarily, if the deduction that people derive their opinions regarding the cost of legal assistance from their assumptions is correct, then learning more about how people derive these assumptions can help in improving the marketing strategies of legal aid programs. Secondly, most people that knew about legal aid programs reported having a reliable internet connection at home. This seems to imply that increasing internet access could be a powerful tool in disseminating information about legal aid and similar programs. Lastly, it is evident further research in this area is necessary. Many factors identified in the literature as influencing people’s knowledge of legal aid programs were found to have no statistically significant effect. Follow-up research is also necessary to learn what factors encourage people to seek and receive aid after they learn about the existence of a legal aid organization.