Welsh government launches review of legal sector


Doolan: increasing investment

Doolan: increasing investment

The former head of client relations at Eversheds has been commissioned by the Welsh government to review the legal sector in the principality.

Solicitor Kevin Doolan – now a consultant and visiting professor at Harvard Law School, as well as a non-executive director of Just Costs Solicitors – has been tasked with identifying opportunities to increase investment and employment and maximise the direct and indirect benefits for the Welsh economy.

The review was commissioned by economy minister Edwina Hart following a recommendation by the Financial and Professional Services Panel.

The Welsh government has identified financial and professional services as “a priority economic sector with high growth potential”. There are currently around 3,800 active solicitors in Wales employed in around 500 firms.

In recent years it has provided financial backing for Cardiff-based alternative business structure NewLaw Solicitors and offered incentives to City law firms to open back-office operations in the city.

Ms Hart said: “In order to maximise the wider direct and indirect economic benefits of the legal sector in Wales, it is essential to gain expert advice and recommendations. I am delighted that Kevin Doolan has agreed to undertake the review that will examine how to increase investment and employment opportunities in the legal sector in Wales.

“The review will look at the challenges and opportunities facing the sector in Wales, how it can grow and thrive and create sustainable jobs and where, if anywhere, the Welsh government should focus its efforts for maximum impact.”

Mr Doolan, who is a partner in the Møller Professional Service Firms Group, based at Churchill College, University of Cambridge, said: “I am greatly looking forward to this opportunity to examine both the challenges facing the legal profession in Wales and the opportunities that are presented by the current business environment.”

He will be conducting interviews with interested parties between 19 and 22 May either on the telephone or in Cardiff.




Leave a Comment

By clicking Submit you consent to Legal Futures storing your personal data and confirm you have read our Privacy Policy and section 5 of our Terms & Conditions which deals with user-generated content. All comments will be moderated before posting.

Required fields are marked *
Email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog


Use the tools available to stop doing the work you shouldn’t be doing anyway

We are increasingly taken for granted in the world of Do It Yourself, in which we’re required to do some of the work we have ostensibly paid for, such as in banking, travel and technology


Quality indicators – peer recommendations over review websites

I often feel that I am banging the SRA’s drum for them when it comes to transparency but it’s because I genuinely believe in clarity when it comes to promoting quality professional services.


Embracing the future: Navigating AI in litigation

Whilst the UK courts have shown resistance to change over time, in the past decade they have embraced the use of some technologies that naturally improve efficiency. Now we’re in the age of AI.


Loading animation