Yahoo Finance UK lawyers register in Ireland in droves amid worries Brexit will hit client business
Almost 1,000 lawyers have registered in Ireland in the past year as the countdown to Brexit picks up pace.
That’s 10 times the average number, according to the Law Society of England and Wales, which said firms fear being unable to represent clients in European courts once the UK leaves the EU.
Under EU rules, communications with lawyers who are not qualified in a country within the European Economic Area are not protected.
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UK-based lawyers fear that in event of a hard Brexit, they will lose the confidentiality privilege – and potentially miss out on clients.
Ken Murphy, director-general of the Law Society of Ireland, told the Financial Times, this was a major concern for those who had registered in the Republic over the past 12 months.
In total, 806 English and Welsh solicitors applied to join the Irish roll of solicitors in 2016, with another 300 doing so in the first half of 2017, said the Law Society of Ireland.
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Mr Murphy said that despite the increase, few firms were actually opening new offices in Ireland.
“This is lawyers being good at being lawyers,” he told the FT, “anticipating and looking at potential problems and solutions, looking round corners.”
The England and Wales Law Society says it is vital members should be able to continue to represent clients in all courts.
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“Our members, both individuals and law firms, are going through their contingency planning as there is still a lot of uncertainty over Brexit,” said Mickael Laurans, head of international at the Law Society.
The development comes amid further evidence of the so-called Brexodus; EY’s Brexit Tracker yesterday showed 59 of the 222 financial services firms it monitored were making plans or had already begun to move staff and operations out of the UK. The most popular destinations were Dublin and Frankfurt.
