approach to it. As previously mentioned, we invite any law Welsh law firm (or firm with a substantial presence in Wales, as defined below) not included in this report to get in touch with us, for inclusion in an updated version of this chapter. For the purpose of identifying a Welsh law firm, we have assessed the presence of headquarters in Wales, regardless of the size of the firm or its geographical spread beyond Wales. Although a firm identified as Welsh according to this criterion may be adopting or developing technology outside of Wales, we consider that the presence of headquarters in Wales suggests that relevant decision-making and, in most cases, relevant administrative and innovative capacity, exist in Wales. In addition to Welsh law firms, we consider examples of innovation in firms that have a substantial presence in Wales, as determined by the existence of a permanent office in Wales, with administrative and legal staff on site (including a dedicated Head and at least one partner). The inclusion of these firms in the examples below is generally justified by one of two reasons: (i) the presence of decision-making or innovation management capacity in Wales (e.g. a partner based in Wales overseeing practice-wide adoption of one or more technologies), or (ii) a notable Welsh identity, where the firm’s presence in Wales is substantial, in relation to the staff employed and the range of services offered by the local office. As mentioned above, we have not sought to provide an exhaustive map of innovation in Welsh law firms. First, other mapping activities are currently undergoing, or have recently been completed: among these, (i) two online surveys by Legal News Wales (2021) 136 , with support from the Cardiff and District Law Society Law Tech group, (ii) a research on small law firms commissioned by Business Wales to cpm21 (2023) 137 , and (iii) the ongoing “Digital Adoption Survey for the Legal Sector in Wales 2023 138 ”, commissioned by Welsh Government to Cardiff University Business School. Secondly, a fully exhaustive mapping of innovation in Welsh law firms is unlikely to result from surveys or calls to action 139 , as these typically result in engagement from firms that already identify themselves as innovation leaders or pioneers, and are thus more likely to also have made relevant information publicly available (appearing, therefore, in our research). Finally, we have considered technology in the broad sense discussed in chapter 2. This is consistent with existing academic research, which has generally set a low threshold for the definition of technology 140 .
136 Emma Waddingham, “LawTech Wales Survey 2021” (Legal News Wales, 3 August 2021), available at https://www.legalnewswales.com/news/lawtech-wales-survey-2021/. 137 Waddingham (n 83). 138 Cardiff University Digital Adoption Survey (n 51). 139 The Legal Innovation Lab Wales and the SRA, for example, have sought to engage with Welsh law firms involved in innovation on numerous occasions, including at the SRA Innovate event held in Swansea in July 2022 and via Legal News Wales and the Cardiff and District Law Society. Engagement has remained limited, although with notable examples of support and collaboration by a limited number of law firms. 140 For example, Whalen (n 122), 51, defines technology as “all devices capable of being used as a means to human ends and the skills and techniques by which we produce and use them”.
21
Made with FlippingBook HTML5