The innovation program is entering phase three in November
The UK justice ministry is welcoming expressions of interest from those looking to sit on the LawtechUK Advisory Board or become LawtechUK ambassadors as the innovation program enters phase three in November.
In line with the upcoming phase, which runs until March 2029, the ministry is overhauling advisory arrangements. It seeks experts in legal services, lawtech, technology, academia, access to justice, and innovation; the ministry emphasized that it was looking for applicants of diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.
Advisory board member
The LawtechUK Advisory Board is responsible for providing strategic oversight and advice regarding LawtechUK’s delivery. It will also guide the LawtechUK grant recipient as appropriate.
Thus, those looking to join the board must be experts in one or more of the following:
- Lawtech founder or scale-up leadership
- legal services innovation
- SME legal services
- academic research
- access to justice and legal innovation
“We are seeking the strongest overall combination of expertise rather than appointing one individual to each profile,” the ministry said in a media release.
Applicants who meet the requirements must submit their CV, a statement of suitability, a finished completed conflicts of interest declaration, and a confirmation of their openness to being considered for an ambassador role should they not be appointed to the board.
Ambassador
Meanwhile, ambassadors will be tasked with promoting LawtechUK on their professional networks. They are expected to support stakeholder engagement, mentor program participants as appropriate, and join program activities like events and workshops.
However, ambassadors are not granted formal governance or advisory role in LawtechUK’s delivery. Applicants may not be appointed to the board and serve as ambassador at the same time.
The submission requirements for ambassador applicants are similar to those for board member applicants, except that the statement of suitability will be replaced with a statement detailing their potential contributions to the program. Moreover, they need not provide the statement of confirmation.
The application period closes on October 5. Subsequently, successful applicants will be identified by evaluating their expressions of interest against the eligibility criteria and the wider membership profiles. Conflicts of interest will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and do not necessarily disqualify an applicant from consideration.
The final appointments will be announced on the week of November 2. They are to act in their personal capacities and not as representatives of their organizations.
The roles are not compensated, and the appointed individuals are expected to remain in their posts for the duration of phase three. Nonetheless, the justice ministry is authorized to terminate an appointment under certain circumstances, such as if the appointee cannot continue in the role or if a conflict of interest that cannot be appropriately handled arises.
