multiple dimensions, thus signalling a firm-wide commitment to innovation that has the potential to result in future paradigm innovation. The closest example we identified was provided by Eversheds Sutherland, which, in addition to its ‘Service Excellence’ approach and Konexo service, appears to be the only law firm that offers clients the provision of legal technology as a service. Eversheds Sutherland has embedded within its business a number of “legal project managers, legal technologists, business analysts, developers, change managers and knowledge and service design experts, all of whom work alongside [their] legal teams in providing an integrated service to [their] clients.” 221 This allows the firm to provide services across four key pillars; legal technology, client-facing knowledge, service delivery and legal project management. 222 Eversheds Sutherland’s aim to use “legal technology to augment the provision of legal services”, 223 with a wide range of technologies including mobile app development, document automation, electronic evidence bundling and robotic process automation 224 , hints at a complete re-conceptualisation of the legal services provided by the firm, a paradigm transition that is still ongoing. Paradigm innovation is the most disruptive stage of legal innovation and, therefore, the lack of examples of it in Wales is expected. However, in chapter 6, we provide some recommendations on how to achieve paradigm innovation for the Welsh LegalTech ecosystem as a whole. 3.3 Overall evaluation and outstanding issues Our research shows that product innovation is the strongest driver of innovation in law firms in Wales. This type of innovation is most sensitive to consumer demand and provides the most direct route to commercial exploitation, generating predictable revenues that justify the initial investment. As discussed above, there appears to be substantial demand for products that connect clients to law firms for communication and access to documents, a demand that supports the growth in client portals and law firm apps. However, specialised apps and other tools are also being actively developed to provide access to expertise within specific areas, sometimes through subscription-based models. The concentration of product innovation in South Wales, and in large or medium law firms, is not surprising, as it matches the characteristics of the sector discussed in chapter 1. The engagement of law firms in Wales with position innovation is encouraging, even if it appears to be driven, primarily, by the need to capitalise upon product innovation, in particular in terms of brand recognition, reach and market opportunities. The recruitment of IT personnel and developers, as well as the external recognition of such investments through legal awards, are two clear indications of the commitment that some firms are making towards legal innovation.
221 Eversheds Sutherland, “Service Excellence”, available at https://www.eversheds- sutherland.com/global/en/what/practices/service-excellence/index.html. 222 Ibid. 223 Eversheds Sutherland, “Legal technology solutions”, available at https://www.eversheds- sutherland.com/global/en/what/practices/service-excellence/legal-technology.html. 224 Ibid.
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