The Supreme Court of South Carolina

Chief Justice Asks Attorneys to Complete Civil Legal Needs Survey

August 23, 2022 – Chief Justice Donald W. Beatty encourages all South Carolina attorneys to participate in the Statewide Legal Needs Assessment, an online survey about the need for, and access to, civil legal representation in South Carolina.

South Carolina attorneys may visit this link to complete the survey, which takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

The objective of the survey is to gather information about the civil legal needs of low- and moderate-income South Carolina residents, the types of legal assistance available to them, the obstacles they encounter when seeking legal help, and possible strategies for improving access to civil legal assistance in South Carolina.

“I strongly encourage all South Carolina attorneys to complete this survey,” said Chief Justice Beatty. “Only occasionally do all attorneys have the opportunity to share our unique perspectives on critical legal issues like this. The results will help inform the future of access to justice in South Carolina, and I commend Justice Few, the Commission, and their partners for providing this opportunity.”

The survey is part of a Statewide Legal Needs Assessment sponsored by the Supreme Court-established South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, the South Carolina Bar, and the NMRS Center on Professionalism at the University of South Carolina School of Law. The study is being conducted by the Center for Housing and Community Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The survey seeks the perspectives of practitioners in a wide variety of settings, including but not limited to those who directly serve low- and moderate-income individuals. Individual survey answers are confidential, and only the team at University of North Carolina at Greensboro will view individual results. Survey responses will be gathered, combined, and reported without disclosing personal information about respondents.