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08 October 2025
Issue: 8134 / Categories: Legal News , Profession , Legal services , EU , International , Brexit
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Brussels beckons for UK lawyers

A post-Brexit agreement to smooth the path for UK lawyers hoping to practise in Belgium has been reached by the respective professional bodies

UK and Belgium Bar and Law Society leaders signed a memorandum of understanding last week with the aim of simplifying the requalification procedures for UK lawyers.

Currently, Belgian lawyers can provide legal services other than reserved legal activities in the UK and practise arbitration, conciliation, mediation and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. They can also employ, be employed and partner with UK lawyers and work as in-house legal professionals.

Richard Atkinson, Law Society president, said: ‘Both UK and Belgian lawyers need to have the same professional rights in our respective countries.’

Peter Callens, president of the Order of the Flemish Bars, said the memorandum represents ‘a promising starting point’.

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Jasmine Olomolaiye, partner at national law firm Foot Anstey, discusses the power of reading and the dizzying heights of her dream career

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Strategic land specialist joins real estate practice as partner

Shakespeare Martineau—Jonathan Pawlowski

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Construction practice strengthened by partner hire in London

NEWS
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A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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