Government opens its first AI Growth Lab to law firms and lawtech
Firms building or using AI in legal services can now put their regulatory questions to four regulators at once. The sandbox offers guidance, and nothing that would shield a firm from its regulators
- Applicants need a UK-established legal entity or a UK-registered branch
- Questions must relate to the England and Wales framework, because the three legal regulators oversee England and Wales only
- Regulators review applications jointly
Law firms and conveyancers buying AI tools should ask suppliers whether they have applied and which question they put to regulators, because the answer shows whether a vendor has tested its claims on privilege and confidentiality. Firms that deploy AI on client work can apply in their own right rather than lean on a supplier’s assurances. Treat a supplier’s place in the cohort as evidence of engagement and nothing more.
“Through our involvement in the Advisory AI Growth Lab, we want to help innovators understand and navigate regulatory requirements, supporting the responsible development of AI tools that can benefit the public while maintaining trust and confidence in legal services.”Sarah Rapson, chief executive, Solicitors Regulation Authority
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade opened applications on 3 August 2026 for the advisory AI Growth Lab, a sandbox that gives organizations developing or deploying AI in legal services joint access to the sector’s regulators. Legal services is the lab’s first sector, and applications close on 27 September.
The Legal Services Board, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the Council for Licensed Conveyancers and the Information Commissioner’s Office take part alongside the department and the Ministry of Justice. Applicants set out their product and the regulatory question they want answered; the government gives client confidentiality, legal privilege, data protection, professional obligations and the use of client data as examples.
The offer is clarity, not cover. The government says taking part is free but brings no funding, does not amount to regulatory approval and gives no safe harbor or letters of comfort. The lab cannot change legislation or create exemptions. Lawtech companies, AI developers, law firms and conveyancers can all apply, and the government says SMEs are encouraged to. According to Legal Futures, around a dozen ideas will be chosen and the process takes around nine months. The SRA, announcing its part on 5 August, said further sectors will follow.
Sources
- Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, “Advisory AI Growth Lab: legal services”, GOV.UK, 3 August 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advisory-ai-growth-lab-legal-services
- Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, “Legal services advisory AI Growth Lab: overview”, GOV.UK, 3 August 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advisory-ai-growth-lab-legal-services/legal-services-advisory-ai-growth-lab-overview
- Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, “Legal services advisory AI Growth Lab: application eligibility and support”, GOV.UK, 3 August 2026. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advisory-ai-growth-lab-legal-services/legal-services-advisory-ai-growth-lab-application-eligibility-and-support
- Solicitors Regulation Authority, “Applications open for government’s Advisory AI Growth Lab in legal services”, news release, 5 August 2026. https://www.sra.org.uk/news/news/releases/growth-lab-ai/
- Legal Futures, “Legal Services AI Growth Lab opens doors for applications”, news report, 6 August 2026. https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/legal-services-ai-growth-lab-opens-doors-for-applications
