Take home message
"The more a public defender asks for their client’s opinion, listens to the client’s concerns, looks into the prosecutor’s evidence when applicable, and informs the client of all possible consequences with the case, the more likely it is that the client will be satisfied with the overall handling of the case.”
Full report: C. Campbell, J. Moore, W. Maier and M. Gaffney, 2015. “Unnoticed, Untapped, and Underappreciated: Clients’ Perceptions of their Public Defenders.” Behavioral Sciences and the Law, DOI: 10.1002/bsl.2182.
Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bsl.2182/abstract. If you have trouble accessing the report Andy Davies may be able to help.
Sample:156 public defender clients surveyed, and one focus group with seven participants.
The Details
This study, from Hamilton County, OH, assessed the relationship between how public defender clients perceived their attorneys’ actions and their overall satisfaction with the representation they received. The article argues trust is important for producing client satisfaction, and subsequently cooperation, perceived fairness and compliance.
The authors also studied how best to capture client satisfaction. They administered surveys, most of which (134 out of 156 total) were filled out by clients who happened to be at the public defender office, in court, or at a local housing authority. They also contacted a statistically representative sample of 568 persons through the mail and by phone, but this approach generated extremely low response rates (see table below) likely due to the lack of address information and internet access among the client community. Additionally, they conducted a seven-person focus group, the qualitative data from which are also presented in the study.
The survey responses showed client satisfaction was significantly higher when the lawyer’s representation was ‘client-centered’. Client centeredness was measured as a statistical combination of five things – the client’s perception that their opinion was sought, that they were listened to, that the prosecutor’s evidence was examined, that meetings were efficient, and that they were fully informed of the possible consequences of the case. Their focus group findings, further, suggested clients were principally concerned with having lawyers who clearly put forth effort on their behalf, who informed them and included them in discussions and decisions, and appeared to be trustworthy.
"The more a public defender asks for their client’s opinion, listens to the client’s concerns, looks into the prosecutor’s evidence when applicable, and informs the client of all possible consequences with the case, the more likely it is that the client will be satisfied with the overall handling of the case.”
Full report: C. Campbell, J. Moore, W. Maier and M. Gaffney, 2015. “Unnoticed, Untapped, and Underappreciated: Clients’ Perceptions of their Public Defenders.” Behavioral Sciences and the Law, DOI: 10.1002/bsl.2182.
Link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bsl.2182/abstract. If you have trouble accessing the report Andy Davies may be able to help.
Sample:156 public defender clients surveyed, and one focus group with seven participants.
The Details
This study, from Hamilton County, OH, assessed the relationship between how public defender clients perceived their attorneys’ actions and their overall satisfaction with the representation they received. The article argues trust is important for producing client satisfaction, and subsequently cooperation, perceived fairness and compliance.
The authors also studied how best to capture client satisfaction. They administered surveys, most of which (134 out of 156 total) were filled out by clients who happened to be at the public defender office, in court, or at a local housing authority. They also contacted a statistically representative sample of 568 persons through the mail and by phone, but this approach generated extremely low response rates (see table below) likely due to the lack of address information and internet access among the client community. Additionally, they conducted a seven-person focus group, the qualitative data from which are also presented in the study.
Method for obtaining client satisfaction data |
Solicitations |
Responses |
|---|---|---|
Mailed surveys |
300 |
12 (4%) |
Phone surveys |
50 |
10 (20%) |
Internet survey (link provided by mailed post card) |
218 |
0 (0%) |
Directly solicited |
N/A |
134 |
Total |
N/A |
156 |
The survey responses showed client satisfaction was significantly higher when the lawyer’s representation was ‘client-centered’. Client centeredness was measured as a statistical combination of five things – the client’s perception that their opinion was sought, that they were listened to, that the prosecutor’s evidence was examined, that meetings were efficient, and that they were fully informed of the possible consequences of the case. Their focus group findings, further, suggested clients were principally concerned with having lawyers who clearly put forth effort on their behalf, who informed them and included them in discussions and decisions, and appeared to be trustworthy.
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