Civil legal aid and legal expenses insurance : an analysis

Modern civil legal aid, has its roots in the post war United Kingdom, being a fundamental component of the welfare state, recognised as such by the political parties of the time. The provision of civil legal aid today is a different animal and does not share the same values as the 'old' scheme. This analysis will assess the evolution of civil legal aid, its success and failure, and consider the changes it has undergone and the forces behind those changes in dictating its current profile as a limited and franchised public services provision.;Legal expenses insurance, unlike civil legal aid, is a relative newcomer as a provider of access to civil justice. The scepticism that accompanied its arrival in this country, some 20 years ago, has dissipated. Insurers battled with the problems of adverse selection, European regulation and the public perception of their product, all of which have influenced market penetration. The position of legal expenses insurance within the civil justice system has begun to strengthen and is now openly recognised and supported by the legal establishment. A key objective of this analysis is to consider the rise of the legal expenses insurance market in the United Kingdom. This analysis seeks to assess the history of legal expenses insurance and evaluate its current position as a viable addition, or possible alternative, to State funded civil legal aid.;Therefore, it becomes necessary for this study to consider the position of comparative European jurisdictions. In addition, the role and reaction of the legal practitioner situated amidst such significant and fundamental change is solicited and evaluated since they have, at once, fought change and yet accepted it in equal measure.;Finally, this analysis explores the future position of civil legal aid and legal expenses insurance. It considers the survival of the former, growth of the latter and the dynamics of the State and private sectors working together to mould a new model for the provision of access to civil justice in the United Kingdom