The Law Society of Northern Ireland welcomed Jo Farrar, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Justice, to Law Society House for a roundtable on the growth of Northern Ireland's legal services sector, a discussion that matters to institute professionals as devolution and law tech adoption reshape how legal services are delivered regionally. The roundtable covered devolution's potential impact on legal services delivery and the scope for innovation through law tech and artificial intelligence.

Law Society of Northern Ireland is the professional body regulating solicitors in Northern Ireland, operating from Law Society House in Belfast.

The Bar of Northern Ireland is the professional association for barristers in Northern Ireland, based at the Bar Library in Belfast with more than 600 members, and sent representatives to the roundtable. It does not publish commercial financials.

Ulster University also sent colleagues to the discussion, alongside the Department for Infrastructure and the Departmental Solicitor's Office. As a public university, it does not publish commercial financials tied to this event.

The roundtable reflects Northern Ireland's position as an active growth market for legal services rather than a routine stakeholder meeting.

Northern Ireland has become a recognised destination for foreign direct investment in legal services, with firms including Herbert Smith Freehills, Allen & Overy, Axiom Law and Baker & McKenzie establishing and scaling operations in the region over the past decade, according to written evidence submitted to the UK Parliament.

A Law Society spokesperson said, "Following the release of the Society's guidance on the Responsible use of Artificial Intelligence earlier this year, we look forward to furthering our work with the MoJ to ensure that Northern Ireland is at the forefront of this exciting and evolving sector."

For the sector, a professional institute convening a serving Ministry of Justice permanent secretary alongside university and departmental legal representatives signals that AI adoption and devolution questions are now treated as sector-wide governance issues, not internal Law Society matters. For the sector's growing foreign direct investment base specifically, regulatory clarity on AI use and devolution's practical impact will influence whether firms continue expanding their Northern Ireland operations.

Whether this roundtable produces concrete policy commitments, rather than a shared understanding of the issues, will determine how much practical weight the discussion carries for firms weighing further investment in the region.

Source: Irish Legal News / UK Parliament