A capability-orientated framework for understanding the nature of legal need

The law is embedded in commercial, employment, and personal relationships, as well as our experiences of health, education, governments, and housing. Unresolved legal problems can escalate and compound the disadvantages, inequalities, and poverty for those already experiencing hardship. Australian governments fund the legal assistance sector to provide free and low-cost legal assistance. The legal issues encountered by populations described as facing forms of disadvantage, vulnerability, and marginalisation are referred to internationally as legal need. Defining legal need has proved a challenge within the scholarly community and the sector itself. Yet, a satisfactory definition is vital for allocating funding, designing strategic service delivery, evaluating client outcomes, advocacy, and law reform. This article proposes a capability-oriented framework for understanding the nature of legal needs, utilising interview and workshop data with over 150 sector employees and stakeholders. It suggests the implications of adopting this framework for the sector.