Law Council of Wales Legal Wales

Legal Wales welcomes inauguration of the Law Council of Wales

The chair of Legal Wales, Huw Williams, welcomes the inauguration of the Law Council for Wales which recently held the first meeting of its Executive Committee and explains how Legal Wales will complement the work of the Law Council.

The idea of an institute to promote the study of Welsh Law was first put forward by Lord Lloyd-Jones JSC at the Legal Wales Conference held in Swansea in 2017. The Commission on Justice in Wales subsequently consulted on the establishment of a Law Council of Wales. Legal Wales responded to the consultation supporting the proposal and noting the contribution such a body, supported by a secretariat, could make to the development of legal policy and education in Wales.

Shortly before the Legal Wales Conference held at the University of South Wales in October 2019, and in advance of the publication of their main report, the Commission on Justice published their recommendation that a Law Council of Wales should be established to promote the interests of legal education and the awareness of Welsh law, to ensure proper provision of teaching the law through the medium of Welsh, and to assist students in their education and training as future practitioners.

Since the publication of the Commission’s recommendation in 2019, the Legal Wales Foundation has reviewed its aims to ensure they complement the mission of the Law Council. In future, Legal Wales will focus on the organisation of the annual Legal Wales Conference, the promotion of access to the legal profession through initiatives such as the LEDLET-Legal Wales Summer Scheme and through organising and supporting ad hoc events such as Hamlyn Lecture held recently at the Senedd.

There will be an opportunity to learn of the progress made by the Law Council during its first year at the Legal Wales Conference 2021 which will take place in October.

Legal Wales’s submission to the consultation on the Law Council and the Commission on Justice’s recommendations can be found at Geldards (Blank Document) (legalwales.org) and Law Council of Wales paper ENG_1.PDF