Ministers ask Legal Services Board to set out its approach to regulating use of AI in legal sector

The Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk, and the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan, have called on the Legal Services Board (LSB) to publish an update by 30 April 2024 on its strategic approach to regulating the use of AI in the sector.

The letter – one of eight sent by ministers to regulators in different sectors – asks the LSB to set out the steps it is taking in line with the expectations in the Government’s AI Regulation White Paper.

The White Paper set out a non-statutory framework for governing AI, underpinned by five principles, “in order to drive safe, responsible innovation”.

The ministers’ letter to the LSB said: “The Legal Services Board is one of the regulators from whom we would particularly value an update, given the significant potential impact of AI upon the legal sector.

“It is important for regulation to strike the right balance between risk and opportunity, and we welcome the LSB’s insight on how to achieve this in the legal sector.”

The letter sets out the information the LSB is expected to cover in its update.