Leading status of UK legal services sector underpins country’s place in global economy, warns Law Society as it reveals Brexit priorities
updated on 25 January 2017
The Law Society has outlined the priorities that it will pursue in its drive to ensure that the solicitors’ profession is supported during and after the government’s Brexit negotiations.
Having pointed out that the United Kingdom’s place in the global economy is underpinned by a strong legal sector, the Law Society and other professional bodies are desperate to ensure that negotiations to leave the European Union don’t result in a negative outcome for the country’s leading status as a provider of legal services. The Law Society has therefore conducted a wide consultation with solicitors following the EU referendum, from which it has identified the following as key priorities to pursue:
- continued access for UK lawyers to practise law and base themselves in EU member states;
- maintaining the current arrangement in which there is mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments, as well as respect for choice of jurisdiction clauses across the European Union in civil cases;
- maintaining UK-EU collaboration in policing, security and criminal justice;
- working effectively with the legal services sector to promote England and Wales as the jurisdiction of choice, and
- ensuring that legal certainty is maintained throughout the process of withdrawal.
Robert Bourns, president of the Law Society, commented: “English law is one of our greatest exports and has helped put Britain at the heart of the global economy. And because the legal sector underpins the success of the UK economy, it is vital we get the future relationship with the [European Union] right. In every part of UK PLC, business relies on the expert advice and support of solicitors. The legal sector is worth £25.7 billion to the economy, contributing £3.6 billion to net exports. It represents a large and robust contributor to our economic prosperity. A 1% growth in the legal sector creates 8,000 jobs, while an additional £1 of turnover stimulates £1.39 in the rest of the economy. In 2015, the legal sector grew by 8%. English and Welsh contract law sets the gold standard across the world and has a global reputation for excellence based on its common-sense approach – that and our widely respected judiciary makes England and Wales the jurisdiction of choice."
