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On August 15, 2020, the Utah Supreme Court issued Standing Order No. 15, which established a regulatory sandbox for new kinds of legal services and service providers—those disallowed under the traditional regulatory framework—could emerge and develop. The stated objective of this new regulatory framework is “to ensure consumers have access to a well-developed, high-quality, innovative, affordable, and competitive market for legal services.” Utah’s regulatory sandbox is built largely on the model IAALS developed and published in 2019.
Rigorous data collection and evaluation is critical in understanding whether Utah’s regulatory sandbox is meeting its stated goals. To that end, IAALS is acting as an independent third-party evaluator for the sandbox.
We are conducting an interim evaluation, which we anticipate publishing in early 2025. This is part of a broader, longer term evaluation effort that we expect to publish towards the end of the sandbox’s pilot period, which is set to expire in 2027.
Objectives:
- Process Evaluation: Assessing the implementation of the Sandbox by articulating a theory of change and developing a logic model to understand the relationships between inputs, activities, and expected outcomes. This critical evaluative step provides a structured framework to examine whether the Sandbox’s design and execution align with its intended objectives and regulatory principles.
- Outcomes Evaluation: Analyzing the Sandbox in key areas, including the entity authorizations, types of entities operating in the Sandbox, the services provided, the quality of those services, the objectives of Sandbox entities, and additional insights gathered from their experiences. This evaluation examines measurable indicators such as service volume, consumer satisfaction, and observed impacts on the legal marketplace. Understanding these outcomes helps assess the Sandbox’s role in improving legal service accessibility and innovation.
- Social Return on Investment (SROI) Analysis: Conducting an assessment similar to a cost-benefit analysis to quantify the value of the Sandbox’s outcomes, including estimating the monetary value associated with key impacts. This analysis helps determine the broader economic and social benefits generated by the initiative relative to its costs.