The Law Society of Ontario (LSO) is responsible for regulating the provision of legal services in Ontario, and the A2I project is first and foremost a regulatory initiative. It is not an incubator or accelerator in the common understanding of those terms. For example, the A2I project is not designed to provide funding support or operational mentorship and resources to participants.
Nevertheless, the LSO recognizes the important role that incubators and accelerators play in spurring innovation. Many of the features and objectives of the A2I project are compatible with those of incubators and accelerators.
For example, by reducing regulatory uncertainty and offering routes to approved service provision, the A2I project gives Innovative Technological Legal Services (ITLS) providers confidence that they can grow successful, sustainable operations. By establishing operating criteria and parameters, the A2I project can also help give ITLS providers targets for the features and protections they need to build into their service models – for example, cybersecurity requirements to protect consumers’ confidential information.
Read more about how the A2I project works.