Research from the Changing Ageing Partnership (CAP) has found that older people in Northern Ireland have limited access to information about legal services. This is despite the fact that older people have a greater need for legal advice on issues such as substitute decisions, making wills, care agreements and matters relating to health. The research is the first of its kind to explore the legal needs of older people. It was carried out for CAP by Dr Subhajit Basu from Queen’s School of Law, Mr Joe Duffy from the University’s School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work and Ms Helen Davey who was employed as research assistant for the study. Joe Duffy said: ‘The legal system must accept that older people are often not getting the service they deserve, at a price that they can afford. This situation must change. ‘The research highlights the factors that prevent older people accessing legal information. They are generally reluctant to engage with the legal system and enforce their rights through the legal processes. They expressed distrust and scepticism towards lawyers and the legal system, particularly regarding the cost of legal services. Their reluctance to complain about the issues that affect them means older people often seek to manage problems on their own, rather than seeking expert guidance.’ The research makes a number of recommendations to help older people access important legal information. It recommends improved communication between health and social care professionals and the legal profession to raise awareness of older people’s legal needs, particularly during critical times in their lives, like following the diagnosis of an illness such as dementia. Joe Duffy continued ‘It is also important that our future legal professionals are educated as to the needs of older people. Undergraduate legal education should therefore include a particular focus on the legal requirements of older members of our community, which should also see older people directly participating in the law curriculum. ‘We also recommend the development of an on-line service providing legal advice for older people, and the use of jargon-free language by the legal profession in all of its communication with older people.’ Dr Subhajit Basu said: ‘Not enough work is being done to increase older people’s awareness of the use of the internet as a legal tool. We need to therefore support older people by helping them develop the skills needed to access and use valuable online resources. However, social policy goals of empowering older people will be increasingly difficult to realise without the improvement in access to legal services more generally.’