Consumer panel: client relationship skills central to probate education

The client relationship should be front a centre when considering probate education standards, according to the Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP).

Commenting on CILEx Regulation’s (CRL) updated probate education standards, the panel said client relationship skills “allow probate professionals to gather the information that should inform everything they do” and should encompass taking instructions; understanding priorities and external pressures, both emotional and financial; communication of ethical and professional obligations; appreciating vulnerabilities; and understanding preferences for communication.

In a letter to CRL, the LSCP noted that its 2023 Tracker Survey showed that, while 85% of legal services consumers were satisfied with the overall service of their legal services provider, the figure fell to 73% of consumers using probate services.

According to the LSCP, it would have been useful for CRL to “have considered evidence on consumer experiences with CILEX probate professionals to understand why ratings for probate legal services are lower and to inform this revision exercise” and that it was “disappointing not to see further explanation of how the review was done, what information it was based on and why only the technical knowledge requirements were addressed”.

Stressing the importance of using consultations to set out the reasoning behind specific changes and evidence to support them, the panel said “further explanation of how the review was done, what information it was based on and why only the technical knowledge requirements were addressed” would have been preferrable.

It said probate legal professionals should have “some basic understanding that cultural approaches to death, inheritance, guardianship and trustees may differ” and that they should be “sensitive to differences in cultural views and actively canvas client preferences when explaining the law, advising their clients and presenting various options”.

The LSCP continued, “It would be helpful to ensure that a basic awareness of these differences and how to communicate with clients and others respectfully on these issues was included in the probate education standards.”

The panel highlighted too that minority ethnic legal services consumers generally had lower ratings for satisfaction than White British consumers (88% compared to 80% on outcome and 90% compared to 81% on service).