Introduction
In 2019, in its “Justice in Wales for the People of Wales” report 1 , the Commission on Justice in Wales (Thomas Commission) highlighted the importance of technology and innovation for the future of legal services in Wales, providing a wide-ranging set of recommendations to support the modernisation of the sector. However, the Commission recognised that the starting point was rather challenging: Whilst there are legal practices in Wales deploying technology to deliver commoditised, high volume work, Welsh legal practices do not at present have sufficient capacity to develop or acquire new technologies. Indeed, whilst legal services in the public sector have adopted technology in a significant and successful way, in the private sector the adoption of technology “barely exists” in Wales. 2 This assessment built upon the findings of “The legal sector in Wales - a rapid review” report (Jomati report) published by Jomati Consultants LLP in June 2019. 3 This report highlighted several factors hindering the growth of technology-based legal innovation in Wales, including the lack of (i) online legal service providers and one-stop shop multidisciplinary offerings, (ii) nearshored legal service centres (in particular, innovation centres), and (iii) a local market for LegalTech talent trained in Welsh universities. In early 2020, the Legal Innovation Lab Wales 4 , supported by Welsh Government and the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) through the European Regional Development Fund, opened its doors at Swansea University. The Lab, with the support of a team of researchers and developers, aimed to address some of the issues highlighted by the Thomas Commission and the Jomati report, improving legal innovation in Wales across three domains: cyber threats, LegalTech, and access to justice. In early 2023, the Legal Innovation Lab Wales undertook a comprehensive mapping of legal innovation in Wales, which resulted in the drafting of this report. We focused, in particular, on Welsh start-ups and scale-ups involved, directly or indirectly, in LegalTech innovation (chapter 4). We also surveyed examples of innovation in Welsh law firms (chapter 3) and legal innovation training offered by Welsh Universities (chapter 5), to understand the structure and dynamics of the Welsh LegalTech ecosystem. Our research led us to developing a circular approach to legal innovation in Wales, which leverages the strength of the ecosystem as a whole to promote an inclusive and sustainable roadmap for Wales to become a global leader in legal innovation (chapter 6). To this aim, we advance eight recommendations, which we consider essential to transform a perceived weakness of the Welsh legal sector into its defining strength for the future. 1 The Commission on Justice in Wales, Justice in Wales for the People of Wales (October 2019) available at www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-10/Justice%20Commission%20ENG%20DIGITAL_2.pdf. Please note that all URLs cited in this report have been last visited on 30 June 2023. 2 Ibid, para 9.77. 3 Jomati Consultants LLP, The Legal Sector in Wales - A Rapid Review (June 2019), available at https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-10/the-legal-sector-in-wales-a-rapid-review.pdf. 4 Official website: https://www.legaltech.wales.
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