Lawyer Impact Survey 2021

About the survey

In 2021, we carried out our second Lawyer Impact Survey to assess the impact of our support to lawyers. We support lawyers with both our emergency defence and our strategic litigation programmes. Through these programmes, we offer pro bono legal support, as well as financial support for lawyers in order to cover their legal fees. We tailor our legal support to the needs of the lawyers we work with. Therefore, we support lawyers in various ways. For instance, we carry out legal research, give advice on legal strategy, or support with legal drafting.

The purpose of this survey is to help us improve the level of support we offer to lawyers and, in turn, contribute to enhancing freedom of expression globally.

We shared this survey with all lawyers who represented journalists in cases that closed in 2021. The 89 emergency and strategic cases that closed in 2021 were supported by 46 different lawyers. We received a total of 26 responses, which means that the response rate for this survey was 57%.

Key findings

Key findings include:

• 100% of respondents recognised that Media Defence added value to their case;
• 92% of respondents would recommend our legal support to other lawyers;
• 90% of respondents were satisfied or extremely satisfied with the quality of legal support; and
• 92% of respondents felt more confident in their skills and ability in litigating freedom of expression cases.

The 2021 Lawyer Impact Survey shows that Media Defence continues to add value in all of its cases. Moreover, Media Defence has positively impacted the lawyers’ work moving forward.

We work with lawyers across the globe. To read about the lawyers we work with in sub-Saharan Africa, click here.

Read the full report here: Lawyer Impact Survey 2021.