2. Will the Welsh Government commission a study on how it can help Welsh legal firms to prepare for the challenges posed by new technology? OAQ52987

The Government recognises the importance of the legal sector in Wales, not least because a resilient and flourishing sector would underpin any new jurisdictional arrangements that may emerge from the work of the Commission on Justice in Wales. We are looking again at how best to support the sector, and that includes commissioning a piece of advisory work that would be potentially broad ranging. But it's clear that the opportunities and challenges posed by new technologies will play a part in that.

Thank you, Counsel General. I was very grateful to you for attending the round-table I organised recently with law schools and law firms looking at the impact of automation on the legal sector in Wales. It was clear from the discussion we had there were both opportunities and threats: opportunities for the firm, like we heard from Hoowla, who provide software to manage cases and automate work flow, which could certainly free up resources in firms, but also risks for the 30 or so small law firms in my constituency—the fact you can now get a will online for £19.99 clearly poses a significant problem to their business model.

It was striking from the discussion, I thought, that the level of awareness in the legal sector was quite low, and as Richard Susskind, the author, has pointed out, there is still a degree of denial amongst firms that this change is coming and the impact it will have on them. Therefore, the provision of skills and advice would seem to be crucial to allow law firms to adapt, because if they don't adapt, they will die.

I was pleased to be invited by the Member to the legal tech round-table a couple of weeks ago. It was an important opportunity to explore what is a very significant change in the legal professional services sector in Wales. I, myself, as I mentioned that morning, have met with a number of law firms across Wales since becoming Counsel General and I would say that wherever they are in Wales and whatever their practice area, and almost whatever their size, they recognise in a general sense the challenge and also the opportunity to deliver better added value services or more efficient services that technology presents. But there is also, as he in his question identifies, a very significant potential disruption to the business models that many firms, again with a range of sizes and a range of locations, have depended upon to sustain those firms. So, I would support the points he is making in his question, really the need for the sector generally to address this issue and to see not just the threat, but also the opportunity that increased digital technological innovation brings, be that more effective case management or, at the more ambitious end, artificial intelligence—the opportunities that those bring, not just for commercial clients, but also for clients accessing services that hitherto have been funded by legal aid. It's important that these advances are available to all people seeking legal advice and legal representation in Wales.