Legal profession supports Ukraine

Lawyers have expressed solidarity with Ukraine and called on the government to assist refugees.

In a joint statement, Bar leaders in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Ireland and the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland, unequivocally condemned the invasion as an ‘act of war’ and ‘a gross violation of international law’.

Law Society president I Stephanie Boyce said: ‘The Law Society stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian National Bar Association and the Ukrainian Bar Association.

‘We also stand with the Russian people who oppose their government’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, and lawyers who are defending the rule of law in the region.’

Meanwhile, lawyers have been advised to keep a close eye on client exposure to Russian sanctions, including in supply chains.

Pinsent Masons senior associate Stacy Keen, a specialist in sanctions, said any ramping-up of sanctions is likely to affect a far wider range of businesses than previous sector-based measures, hitting not just UK oil exploration and production companies but other strategic sectors such as the information, communications and digital technologies sectors.

‘Businesses should plan on the basis that the sanctions already announced are just the first wave,’ Keen said.

‘They should urgently be identifying not just Russian and Ukrainian business partners but also non-Russian/Ukrainian counterparties that have a significant exposure to these countries.’

However, reports this week that Foreign Secretary Liz Truss briefed MPs that London law firms are delaying sanctions against Russian oligarchs prompted raised eyebrows in the profession.

Human rights barrister Jessica Simor QC tweeted: ‘Law firms can’t hold it up. Only a court could. Are there any court orders? I doubt it.’

Boyce responded, on behalf of the Law Society: ‘It’s the job of solicitors to represent their clients, whoever they may be, so that the courts act fairly. 

‘This is how the public can be confident they live in a country that respects the rule of law―unlike Putin’s tyrannical regime. Solicitors are highly regulated and are not allowed to bring spurious objections to processes―if they challenge the government’s actions, it’s because they think the government is at risk of breaking its own rules.’