a) collaboration between law firms and other professional firms, to create business networks, in particular in rural areas 45 ; b) collaboration between law firms, for example through fee share arrangements for referrals, in particular to support small law firms 46 ; c) collaboration between law firms and universities, to develop the pool of law graduates and increase knowledge transfer 47 . To support these collaborations, the Thomas Commission suggested a range of initiatives including a mentoring and coaching scheme, a matching service for practitioners seeking to merge their businesses, discussion groups for professionals, and legal hubs across Wales. 48 Lord Lloyd-Jones, in his 2017 speech at the Legal Wales Conference, called for an umbrella body to be a voice for legal Wales to encourage cooperation and collaboration with an emphasis on promoting awareness of Welsh law, ensuring that Welsh language resources are available, and to ensure that Welsh law schools, the judiciary and legal professionals are supported to provide or receive the necessary training, including in legal tech, to be successful in practice. 49 Welsh Government, as well as the Law Society, SRA, and other organisations, such as Legal News Wales, have taken steps in the direction of increasing coordination and collaboration in the sector. For example, Legal News Wales, together with the Cardiff and District Law Society’s LawTech Committee, has launched a survey on technology adoption in 2021 50 and is currently planning a LegalTech showcase in the autumn of 2023. The Department for Economy and Transport of Welsh Government has recently launched another survey 51 , with input from the Law Society, Legal News Wales, the SRA and the Legal Innovation Lab Wales at Swansea University. The Justice Policy department and Business Wales are also contributing to a range of initiatives in collaboration with the Law Society, such as funded access to Cyber Essentials certification for Welsh law firms. 52 At industry level, Legal Network operates as a free referral network for law firms, with a fee share arrangement, thus promoting collaboration between law firms. 53 The SRA 54 and LawTech UK 55 have also led initiatives to bring together the Welsh legal sector, including law firms, start-ups and researchers.
45 Ibid, para 9.55. 46 Ibid, para 9.73. 47 Ibid, para 9.55. 48 Ibid, para 9.75 (and included subparagraphs).
49 The Commission on Justice in Wales, Law Council of Wales - Discussion and Consultation Paper (2018), available at https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-10/law-council-of-wales-discussion-consultation-paper.pdf. 50 Business Wales, “LawTech Wales Survey 2021“ (9 August 2021), available at https://businesswales.gov.wales/news-and- blogs/news/lawtech-wales-survey-2021. 51 Cardiff University, “Digital Adoption Survey for the Legal Sector in Wales 2023”, available at https://cardiff.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_02mPOeWPDKfI2Ka?Q_CHL=qr. 52 Emma Waddingham, “Funded Cyber Essentials Launches for Law Firms in Wales” (Legal News Wales, 2 September 2022), available at www.legalnewswales.com/news/funded-cyber-essentials-launches-for-law-firms-in-wales/. 53 Hugh James, “Legal Network”, available at https://www.hughjames.com/service/legal-network. 54 A SRA Innovate event was held in Swansea on 7 July 2022. See Solicitors Regulation Authority, “News” (5 May 2022), available at https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/sra-update-103-innovate/. 55 An event jointly organised by LawTech UK and Swansea University was held in Cardiff on 14 June 2023. See LawTech UK, “The Future of Lawtech in Wales” (16 May 2023), available at https://lawtechuk.io/news/cardiff.
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