The Legal Innovation Lab Wales Reflects on a Successful 4 Years

The Lab was part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and the operation commenced in August 2019, running until June 2023. During this period, the Lab combined purpose-built facilities with expert research in three areas:

• LegalTech: supporting the development of legal innovations, underpinned by research into AI and machine learning.
• Cyber Threats: supporting the understanding and combatting of cybercrime, terrorists’ use of new technologies, online grooming, misinformation, fake news and criminal internet use.
• Swansea Law Clinic: supporting the access to justice agenda by facilitating the trialling and use of LegalTech to address legal issues.

Following on from Inception and Mid-Term Evaluations, completed in 2020 and 2022, a Final Evaluation was undertaken by SQW Ltd., to thoroughly analyse the project and its results. The main findings of the Report, were split into Conclusions and Recommendations, as follows.

The Conclusions were positive overall, with the following points, amongst others, being noted:

• The operation has been delivered against a challenging backdrop, enabling the School of Law to pursue world-leading research and secure competitive research income.
• The Lab has successfully constructed and fit-out the LegalTech, Cyber Threats and Law Clinic facilities, established research teams, and engaged with a wide range of stakeholders.
• The operation has made a positive contribution to research activity; attracting competitive and private research funding, with £2.7m of research secured by January 2023.
• The operation has been managed well, with strong project management and administration support evident throughout its delivery.

The Report also delivered a set of Recommendations, with the following, among others, suggested:

• The University should seek a timely conclusion to its ongoing options review for the Lab, to ensure the Lab’s future function and objectives remain appropriate, and to consider its future funding.
• The University should look to continue the work associated with the Virtual LegalTech platform, which could have potential impact on the ability of Welsh and UK law firms to access essential LegalTech tools; delivering an important legacy for the Lab.
• The University should consider the opportunities arising from the Lab’s unique intersection between LegalTech and Cyber Threats expertise, and how learning and knowledge can be shared, identifying further opportunities.

In Summary, the Lab was a successfully run project, which produced tangible results that can shape the future of LegalTech, the combatting of cyber threats and the access to justice agenda, not only in Wales, but on a national and international platform.

If you’d like to read more on the Legal Innovation Lab Wales, and the findings of the Report, the Full Final Evaluation is now available online.