Monisha Shah, Chair of the Legal Services Board, delivered a speech at a Roundtable with Legal News Wales in Swansea on 23 April 2026. The speech is below.
Speech by Monisha Shah
Good afternoon everyone.
Thank you for being here today in Swansea. My name is Monisha Shah, and I am delighted to join you as the newly appointed Chair of the Legal Services Board.
I want to be clear about why I’m here today – and it’s not to talk at you. It’s to listen.
It’s a happy coincidence that Wales is where my first engagement as Chair has brought me – and it’s one I intend to make the most of. Wales has its own distinct legal traditions, a growing body of Welsh law, and a profession operating in a genuinely unique context. I’ve spent my first few weeks learning about Wales and the distinct challenges and opportunities here, and I’m pleased to now leave London behind and hear firsthand from all of you what’s happening on the ground.
The legal services sector exists to serve society. But I have a particular passion for what it means for ordinary people who need legal help, often at some of the most important and difficult moments of their lives. People who may not even realise they have a legal problem, let alone know where to turn or how to choose the right help. Closing that gap – between people and the support they’re entitled to – is something I care about deeply, and it’s a lens I’ll be bringing to everything I do in this role. And if we are to regulate that sector effectively, we need to understand it from every angle – including yours.
This roundtable is one of the first steps in what I hope will be a genuine, ongoing conversation. I want to hear what’s working, what isn’t, and where you think regulation can do better. I want to understand the pressures you face, the barriers your clients encounter, and the opportunities you see that regulators sometimes miss.
I come to this role with fresh eyes, and I think that’s a strength. But fresh eyes are only useful if they’re paired with open ears – and that’s exactly what I intend to bring.
As I told the Select Committee in March, ”The LSB’s focus is really to improve access to justice, make it easier for ordinary people and businesses to get the help that they need, protect people who use legal services, ensure that legal services are of a high standard and maintain trust in the profession. Ultimately, it is to ensure that the legal sector, as a whole, works in the public interest.”
My experience of regulation is that it is very important for the Chair to understand the tensions and the conflict within the system. Therefore, in the initial period at least, I would like to undertake a period of discovery—a listening exercise—to really understand the issues and challenges faced by the regulated entities, by the authorised regulators and by the consumers, so that I could come to my own evidence base and understanding about the future direction of the LSB.”
So today, please speak candidly. Your insights will directly shape how I approach this role, and how the Legal Services Board engages with the profession and the public in the months ahead.
Thank you. I look forward to the discussion.
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