WIREDGOV

A clear and accessible system of laws is key in terms of promoting a growing, successful and vibrant legal sector to support and attract businesses to Wales, the Welsh Government’s Counsel General told leading the legal professionals recently.

In a speech to the Law Society Wales summer reception, Theodore Huckle QC said:

“A clear, certain and settled statute book provides citizens and those who wish to come and do business in Wales with a stable and settled legal framework: one in which they are able to say how the law affects them, what the impacts of the law will be, and they are able to reasonably understand how that will continue or change.

“This is vital for us to deliver our pro-business approach as a government; creating growth and jobs in every part of Wales.

“Inward investment in Wales is at its highest for decades, because investors know they can rely on a supportive, agile government and a skilled workforce. A clear and accessible system of laws is a key factor in creating, supporting and building on that success.

“Our role must, so far as law-making is concerned, be one which gives practical effect to the ideals of the rule of law through accessibility of the law. By this I mean it has clarity, it is certain, it is capable of safe and sure navigation and is available.”

According to the Law Society’s 2014 annual statistical report, which are the latest available figures, there are 2,890 solicitors in private practice in Wales, employed in 454 firms. And of those firms, there are 10 Welsh legal firms or firms with a presence in Wales, ranked among the top 200 law firms in England and Wales.

RELATED LINKS