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DTSTAMP:20260406T031245Z
DTSTART:20190923T093000Z
DTEND:20190923T104500Z
SUMMARY:Legal expense insurance schemes and access to justice
DESCRIPTION:Legal expense insurance (LEI) is a well-established industry 
 and a significant source of legal funding in many developed jurisdiction
 s\, notably in Europe. It is established\, but less developed in some co
 mmon law jurisdictions\, including Canada and some parts of the United S
 tates.\n\nElsewhere in the world\, however\, legal expense insurance has
  been a vexed aspect of the access to justice initiatives of the profess
 ion. The reasons most often cited for the failure of LEI to establish it
 self in otherwise-developed jurisdictions have included the intransigenc
 e of governments\, the indifference of the insurance industry\, the lack
  of understanding of the concept within the legal profession\, the size 
 of certain markets and a lack of transparency of approach.\n\nLEI is a s
 imple concept. It has often been proposed as a solution to deal with the
  issue of access to justice for the ‘forgotten middle’. It recognises th
 at a section of the community will always have the ability to access and
  afford legal services when the need arises. It likewise recognises that
  those who cannot\, and are never likely to be able to access such servi
 ces\, will be assisted by the public purse.\n\nThe need for access to le
 gal services generally arises out of a crisis\, or at least an untimely 
 event not of the person’s choosing. Middle income earners do not expect\
 , and do not plan\, to have the resources on hand to meet the costs of s
 uch a need as and when it arises.\n\nSince not all people will need acce
 ss to legal services\, it becomes a classic example of an event for whic
 h spreading the risk of such a need by means of insurance is the answer.
 \n\nOver the course of 2018–2019\, the Access to Justice and Legal Aid C
 ommittee has been researching the following issues in LEI provision\, an
 d it will present a session on its findings\, and proposed solutions to 
 improve access to justice through LEI.\n\nJurisdictions where LEI is wid
 ely available:\n\n1. In which jurisdictions is LEI available?\n2. How is
  it marketed?\n3. How is LEI regulated in different jurisdictions?\n4. W
 hat roles exist for bar associations in the maintenance of standards of 
 legal services and promotion of product?\n5. What measures are in place 
 to ensure choice of lawyer for the insured client?\n6. What are the cont
 ractual arrangements between lawyers and LEI providers?\n\nJurisdictions
  where LEI is underutilised:\n\n1. What are the reasons for the underusa
 ge?\n2. What impediments exist to the greater use of LEI?\n3. To what ex
 tent has the introduction of LEI been supported by the insurance industr
 y and the legal profession?\n4. Can research establish best practice pri
 nciples that could be used to widen the use of LEI in different jurisdic
 tions?\n\nThe research was undertaken by questionnaire to bar associatio
 ns\, law societies and members of the IBA\, as well as LEI providers and
  associations. The Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee intends to 
 use the session in Seoul to present its research\, as it has done succes
 sfully in previous years.
LOCATION:Room 327 B\, Floor 3
UID:8734c1c9-405c-46db-adf2-2086c535da14
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