The Legal Services Board (LSB) of England and Wales has issued guidance aimed at promoting the use of technology and innovation within the legal sector to improve access to legal services. This guidance outlines three main outcomes that regulators should strive to achieve: enabling the use of technology and innovation to support improved access to legal services and to address unmet legal needs, balancing the benefits and risks of technology and innovation, and actively fostering a regulatory environment that is open to technology providers and innovators.
The guidance encourages regulators to facilitate the adoption of technology by consulting with the public, promoting technological solutions, providing clear information, and addressing barriers to access, particularly for those less technologically adept. It advocates for a risk-based approach to innovation, urging regulators not to be overly risk-averse but to balance potential benefits and risks. This includes being open to experimentation with new solutions through mechanisms like regulatory sandboxes.
Regulators are also called to create a welcoming environment for innovators and technology providers by collaborating with stakeholders, identifying and reducing barriers to entry, and being receptive to new technologies that can benefit consumers. The LSB plans to integrate this guidance into its Regulatory Performance Assessment Framework Sourcebook of Standards and Characteristics and indicates the potential for future revisions to maintain its relevance and efficacy in promoting technology and innovation in legal services. This approach reflects the LSB’s broader objective to ensure that legal services are delivered transparently, accountably, proportionately, and innovatively, aligning with public and consumer interests.
See the full article on the LSB site, or download the guidance (PDF).