Welsh Government’s top law officer calls on sector to embrace new technologies to improve efficiency and accessibility
Prif swyddog cyfraith Llywodraeth Cymru yn galw ar y sector i fanteisio ar dechnolegau newydd er mwyn bod yn fwy effeithlon a hygyrch
The Counsel General and Minister for Delivery, Julie James, has outlined her priorities in her first speech since taking on the role – in which she pledged to be ‘a champion for Wales’.
Speaking to the Legal Wales Conference in Pembrokeshire, the Counsel General spoke of the importance of access to justice and the accessibility of law, which she called ‘the glue that holds society together’.
The Legal Wales Conference provides a platform for dialogue on constitutional and legal developments and the future of the profession.
In her keynote address, she called on professions to be part of the conversation about the future of the justice system and expressed how she would like to see the use of new technologies welcomed across the sector.
The Counsel General said:
“We need to find efficiencies in how we do justice. We need it to be quicker - without losing its core strength of fairness.
“Practices need to embrace technology and keep pace with changes in how the world does business.
“One thing I am particularly keen to see is practices and individuals not seeing each other as competitors but working collaboratively in the interests of justice.”
The Counsel General also outlined her intention to continue working with other governments and agencies to explore the power of AI to help people engage with and understand the law so they can find the right answers to real life situations.
As part of her goal to improve accessibility of the law, the Counsel General has also committed to introducing a Bill to the Senedd next year to consolidate planning law.
It is part of longer-term improvements that will bring real life practical benefits and allow people a better understanding of how it affects them.
The Counsel General added:
“The law is the glue that holds a society together. It is an expression of our common agreement to support each other – the very foundations of a stable democratic society. It is how we try to keep things fair, ordered, predictable.
“And yes, it can and should protect our most vulnerable. But it should apply universally to all, from poorest to richest.”