- About Us
- Executive Leadership Team
- Board & Committees
- Key Initiatives
- Articling Surveys
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives
- Indigenous Initiatives
- Innovation Sandbox
- Annual & Financial Reports
- Strategic Plan
- Affiliations
- Awards & Scholarships
- Contact Us
- Upcoming Events
- Media Room
- eBulletins
- Latest from the Law Society
- Home
- Who We Are
- Key Initiatives
- Innovation Sandbox
- About the Innovation Sandbox
Please note: The Law Society of Alberta has paused consideration of applications to the Innovation Sandbox. Check back periodically for status updates on the program.Â
The Innovation Sandbox is operated by the Law Society’s Innovating Regulation Group (IRG). The IRG’s mandate is to explore how the Law Society can allow for greater flexibility in its current regulatory framework and minimize regulatory barriers to both encourage and foster innovation in the delivery of legal services in Alberta. The IRG includes senior counsel and policy, risk, technology and compliance professionals from within the Law Society.
What the Sandbox is for
With the Innovation Sandbox, the Law Society is creating a space where current regulations on legal service delivery can be relaxed to encourage innovation. The Sandbox environment supports potential providers in testing new ideas and models for the delivery of legal services in a controlled environment, with the IRG providing oversight.
Legal service delivery, in this context, is defined as the means, tools and processes by which legal work product is transmitted to a client. It contemplates legal, technological, process/project management and business issues and experience. Applications that contemplate the provision of legal advice (the analysis of the facts and the provision of a recommendation to a client with regard to a specific course of action, based on applicable law) by non-lawyers are not approved.
Outside of the Innovation Sandbox, only lawyers who are active and practising members of the Law Society can provide legal services in Alberta; law firms cannot be owned by non-lawyers.
Eligibility Criteria
The eligibility criteria for Sandbox participants has been approved by the Benchers and include the following:
- In Scope – The proposed delivery model must advance a goal of the Law Society’s Strategic Plan.
- Benefit to the Public – The proposed delivery model must offer a reasonable prospect of identifiable and clear benefits to the public, such as improved efficiencies, lower cost, or greater access.
- Access is Necessary – The Innovation Sandbox is designed for legal service delivery models that are outside of the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta (Rules) or the Code of Conduct (Code).
- Genuine Innovation – Proposed delivery models should be innovative in Alberta, address gaps or offer a significantly different way of delivering legal services.
- Client Safeguards – The proposed delivery model must identify any reasonably foreseeable risks that may be posed to the public during a pilot, and safeguards that will be put in place to mitigate these risks and protect clients.
- Business Operating Permits – Any business permits required by the local or the provincial government must be obtained by the applicant prior to operating the delivery model in Alberta.
- Readiness – The applicant must indicate when they will be ready to implement the proposed delivery model in a live environment. Readiness will be established by having a well-developed business plan, that sets out clear objectives, measures for success, safeguards for the public along with the necessary tools and resources in place.
- Exit Strategy – Applicants are required to have a clear exit strategy either for a pre-determined end date, or earlier if the Law Society determines that a delivery model must cease operations during the pilot.
Frequently Asked Questions
Application approval decisions are made with reference to a detailed set of approval criteria, one of which is whether the applicant carries appropriate insurance commensurate to the risks involved in the delivery of its services. This may include errors and omissions insurance, product liability insurance, general commercial liability insurance, and/or cyber insurance.
If Alberta lawyers are practising in the Innovation Sandbox, they need to either have indemnity coverage through ALIA or through professional liability insurance that they secure through the private market. Sandbox participants who are not lawyers are not eligible for ALIA coverage and require private professional liability insurance.
While the Sandbox participants may have approval to relax the application of a specific rule, that does not mean they are not being obligated to comply with other standards. The participants are only permitted to operate under the terms of an agreement with the Law Society, which includes regular reporting on progress and/or challenges. The Rules or the provisions of the Code that are not relaxed remain in effect for Sandbox participants.
Where non-lawyers are part of the proposal, they are contractually bound by the Sandbox agreement. Should they deviate from those terms, or if the Law Society, through its regular oversight, determines that the public is at risk, the project will be terminated. If despite the project’s termination the project continues to operate, the Law Society may seek injunctive relief to stop the delivery of service.
A complaint regarding Alberta lawyers will follow the Law Society’s complaint process.
For complaints against a Sandbox participant who is not an Alberta lawyer, the Law Society will assess a complaint to determine the nature of the complaint, the issues raised and whether a complaint may be resolved through additional support. If the complaint is resolved to the satisfaction of the contact person, then no further steps are required.
Complaints can be filed through the Innovations Sandbox’s online Complaints form.
The mandate of the law society is to regulate in the public interest; using funds from our operating budget to support this initiative and our strategic plan is part of our ongoing operations. Additionally, there are no additional incremental costs to run the program.
The Law Society has limited jurisdiction over who appears in court, as the Legal Profession Act and the courts themselves govern that process.
However, while the Innovation Sandbox is open to both lawyers and non-lawyers, the Sandbox does not permit any business model that seeks to deliver legal advice from non-lawyers. The eligibility requirements for sandbox applicants do not permit us to authorize agents to appear in any level of court where they would not otherwise be permitted to appear by current legislation or relevant procedural rules.
No. The Law Society will not prosecute you for using any products or services offered in the Sandbox. You may do so without fear of punishment and will not be offside the Rules or Code of Conduct for doing so. Sandbox participants must meet and maintain eligibility requirements before they are allowed to operate. You can rely on that approval when using Sandbox products and services.