About 700 registered European lawyers (RELs) would lose the right to practise in December 2020, under a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
Moreover, no new REL applications could be made from 11pm on the day of exit, 29 March 2019.
RELs and EU lawyers seeking to practise in England and Wales would therefore have to requalify as a solicitor or barrister or become Registered Foreign Lawyers.
Last week the government published its latest technical notice on leaving the EU, ‘Providing services including those of a qualified professional if there’s no Brexit deal’.
The regime for regulating registered European lawyers (RELs) will end, subject to a transitional period lasting to the end of December 2020. Under the regime, RELs register with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and can provide the full range of legal services, including working as a sole practitioner.
The SRA has written to all RELS, explaining how they will be affected. Applications received but still being processed on exit day will be honoured, and applicants allowed to practise until December 2020.
It said RELs will be able to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales through the Qualifying Lawyer Transfer Scheme (QLTS), the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination, due to be introduced at the earliest in autumn 2020. Exemptions to parts of the exam may be given to take account of qualifications and experience.
The technical notice also sets out the removal of the Directive that covers mutual recognition of professional qualifications. The SRA said a future system for recognition of professional qualifications will be developed in the event of no deal.
Christina Blacklaws, president of the Law Society, said firms would incur ‘a significant amount of expense’ to find ways around the issue.
The government’s notice also provided no answers for UK lawyers in the EU, who could face different barriers in each of the 30 EU/EEA countries, she said.
‘That’s why we continue to call on the government to put mutual market access at the heart of its Brexit priorities. Legal services are one of Britain’s greatest exports—it’s worth almost £30bn annually to the UK economy and one of its key requirements is to be able to recruit talent internationally and support businesses in the UK and EU.’
