LSB publishes an update on its approach to regulating the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the legal services sector, 29 April 2024.
In response to a ministerial request from the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology and the Ministry of Justice, we have published a document setting out our approach to delivering a pro-innovation approach to AI regulation: Delivering a pro-innovation approach to AI regulation – an outline of the LSB’s approach (pdf).
The update sets out our overall approach to technology including AI, the scope of our regulatory remit, our new statutory guidance on technology and innovation, how we assess regulator performance, and a forward look of our plans in relation to AI, technology and innovation over the next year.
We look forward to continuing to work with the government as the proposals from the AI White Paper are implemented.
Guidance on promoting technology and innovation to improve access to legal services
On 23 April 2024, we published statutory guidance for regulators on promoting technology and innovation to improve access to legal services.
Joint research with LawtechUK to understand how technology can help to address SMEs legal needs
The Legal Services Board worked with Lawtech UK on research to help us better understand how SMEs address their legal problems and their attitudes to legal technology solutions (‘lawtech’). The research was carried out by Community Research and involved:
- A 1-week online forum with 40 SMEs, 10 of whom had used lawtech solutions previously
- A mix of discussion boards and surveys exploring SMEs legal needs, their experiences and attitudes towards legal services providers, and their impressions, or experiences of lawtech solutions
- In-depth interviews with 20 SMEs.
We have now published the research report (PDF) and an infographic (PDF) that identifies some opportunities for how technology can help to address SMEs legal needs. We have also published a blog drawing out some of the key takeaways from this research.
Continuing to support the Lawtech UK Sandbox Pilot
We are supporting the second year of the LawtechUK Sandbox initiative. The Lawtech Sandbox fast tracks transformative ideas, products and services that address the legal needs of businesses and society. The participants for the Sandbox were announced on 6 October 2021.
The LSB supports the Sandbox through the Regulatory Response Unit (RRU), which brings together regulators from across the legal services sector and other sectors. We look forward to working closely with LawtechUK and other regulators to support this important work.
The first phase of the Lawtech UK Sandbox Pilot finished on 25 March 2021 following a three-month trial period. The Pilot provided pioneers with access to several tools and services to accelerate the development of lawtech, including access to cross-sector regulators.
Collaborating on technology and innovation
Collaboration and joint working will continue to be a key feature of our work. If you are interested in collaborating with us on technology and innovation, please get in touch with the Innovation and Technology team at innovationtechnology@legalservicesboard.org.uk
Below we outline our current policy work on technology and innovation.
Reshaping legal services to better meet society’s needs – the role of technology and innovation
On 29 March 2021, we published a strategy for the legal services sector. This is the culmination of an extensive programme of engagement and evidence-gathering, including the State of Legal Sector 2020 report that we published in November 2020. The golden thread of the strategy is the need to reshape legal services to better meet society’s needs.
Technology has the rare, transformative potential to not only to open up access to citizens and small businesses currently excluded from the market but to also improve quality by enabling providers to deliver services in different ways that better meet people’s needs.
We lay out the role of regulation in fostering responsible innovation in our paper ‘Striking the balance: How legal services regulation can foster responsible technological innovation’ [PDF]. This paper also outlines the priorities that will inform our work on technology and innovation in 2021-24, including:
- Considering the implications of technology as part of our scope of regulation work
- Considering technology and innovation as part of our regulatory performance framework review
- Using our convening powers to help regulators bodies in developing their own regulatory approaches and capabilities
- Developing more and better open data
- Ensuring emerging uses of technology are ethical and socially acceptable
New podcast on technology on regulation
The report is accompanied by a podcast on how legal services regulators can actively support technology and innovation that safely increase access to legal services and explore the ways in which technology can help open the legal services market up to citizens and small businesses.
Collaborating on technology and innovation
Collaboration and joint working will continue to be a key feature of our work. If you are interested in collaborating with us on technology and innovation, please get in touch with the Innovation and Technology team at innovationtechnology@legalservicesboard.org.uk
State of Legal Services 2020 Report
In November 2020, we published our State of Legal Services 2020 report. This gives an in-depth review of the legal services sector following ten years of independent regulation. It is informed by data, evidence and conversations with a wide range of individuals and organisations, and research by the LSB and others. The report has two volumes – a narrative section and an extensive evidence compendium.
Pre-pandemic, levels of innovation in the sector have been static despite deregulatory reforms removing restrictions on businesses. Culture appears to be a more significant impediment to innovation than regulation. The main regulatory barriers to innovation tend to be ‘soft’ ones, like navigating the regulatory system. But the sector could overcome these by supporting new entrants with information, sandboxes, innovation funds, strategies and similar initiatives.
The permissive regulatory framework created by the Legal Services Act 2007 is more conducive to technological innovation than some other jurisdictions, but it does create some difficulties. For example, technology developers and overseas-based providers falling outside the scope of regulation, the focus on title-based regulation as opposed to activity-based regulation, the complexity involved in navigating the regulatory framework and the potential for different standards as a result of multiple regulators in the sector. These factors could disincentivise innovators from entering the market and create gaps in consumer protection that legal service regulators are unable to mitigate.
Our report concludes that despite the achievements of the last decade, the legal services market is not working as well as it should be and that the basic legal needs of many citizens are not being met. The challenges facing the sector can be condensed into three strategic themes: fairer outcomes, stronger confidence and better services.
On 29 March 2021, we published a strategy for the legal services sector. This is the culmination of an extensive programme of engagement and evidence-gathering, including the State of Legal Sector 2020 report.
Further Information
If you’d like to learn more about our work on technology and innovation, or if you are interested in collaborating, please contact the Innovation and Technology team at innovationtechnology@legalservicesboard.org.uk
