With less than 12 months to go, the impact of Brexit on London’s legal community remains uncertain, the president of London Solicitors Litigation Association (LSLA) has warned.
Uncertainty lingers around jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement post-Brexit, which are dependent on the Brussels I Recast Regulation, Julian Acratopulo says in this week’s NLJ. ‘EU and UK negotiators cannot yet agree on even the policy objectives in this area, let alone the detailed practicalities.’
Acratopulo, a partner at Clifford Chance, said that while the English courts are the envy of the world, ‘competition in New York, Singapore, Dubai, Frankfurt and most recently, Paris, is circling and there is no room for complacency’. Consequently, he said, while the Brexit deliberations continue, judges and practitioners should identify and embrace modernising reforms on topics such as disclosure and witness statements to ensure the justice system remains fit for purpose.
