What do we mean by legal capability?

Empowerment stands at the centre of what we want to achieve with PLE. Our aim is to equip people to deal better with the law related issues that we know they are likely to encounter in the course of the lives.

But what does that mean in practice? What capabilities do people need to be able to deal with law related issues? What knowledge do they need? What skills do they require? What attitudes should they have?

Or looking at it another way, suppose we had a legally capable person standing in front of us, what would they be able to do?

We've asked this question at several recent events. It was discussed at the PLE conference in Cardiff in November; at workshops at the Law Centres Federation and ASA conferences, at a Civil Justice Council conference for the judiciary and at a conference in Edinburgh looking at Scotland's need for PLE.

Despite the wide range of participants at the different events the answers we've got back have been very consistent.

Darren needs knowledge of discrimination law in order to understand whether it applies to him. He also needs the skills to handle some very difficult conversations with his boss including the emotional strength to keep calm in a very stressful situation.

Amina's situation was trickier to think about as she doesn't have a specific problem. But she needs to know about her rights as a tenant and deal with a lease/tenancy agreement. She, and her flatmates, need to be clear on their responsibilities and plan ahead to manage the rent and utility bills and keep track of payments.

The general consensus on knowledge was that people need to

• Be aware of and recognise legal issues
• Know where to find out more
• Understand the issues
• Know the routes to a solution
• Know where to go to get help

Knowing the legal issues is pivotal: it provides the basis of any further action.

Knowing where to find out more is, we think, distinct from knowing where to get help. In critical situations the two may run together, but more often people will try to find out more about their situation before they start thinking about going to get help.

The skills required are to be able to:

• Communicate effectively
• Make decisions
• Keep track of calls and correspondence

Skills are often overlooked but effective skills can make all the difference especially at the early stages. The way the earliest conversations are handled can be crucial, often the difference between an early resolution and an escalating problem. Yet who teaches us how to manage that difficult conversation over a till in a shop or with a bank's call centre?

The attitudes needed, perhaps better described as emotional skills, are:

• Confidence
• Determination
• Belief in the process
• Detachment

Confidence and determination are less tangible, but are key elements of dealing successfully with a problem. How many people give up because they lack the confidence to deal with an issue? And how many people walk away empty handed because they become frustrated and lose their temper?

Capability is a very useful concept

It is a very user-centric approach.

It is much broader than the concept of legal literacy, not just about knowledge of the law but also about skills, self confidence and determination.

It makes links to both education and community development - breaking down the boundaries of the legal services ghetto.

It can guide us in producing PLE materials. What can we do to increase knowledge? How do we develop skills? It's clear that some of the mainstays of PLE work - leaflets and websites will work reasonably well at delivering knowledge - but are less successful at skills and confidence.

What techniques can PLE practitioners use in order to address the full range of capabilities? Use the box below to give us your ideas.

Martin Jones
April 2009

Edited October 2009