Services of Lawyers and Lawyer’s Practice (Revocation etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, the purpose of this instrument is to implement into domestic law the provisions relevant to lawyers’ practice rights and the recognition of legal qualifications in the EU withdrawal agreement, the EEA and EFTA separation agreement and the Swiss citizens’ rights agreement. It ensures that EU lawyers who apply to practise law across England, Wales and Northern Ireland before the end of the transition period can have their applications properly considered. The instrument also protects Swiss lawyers who have been practising in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and implements a four-year transition after Brexit for Swiss lawyers to register and practise law across those three UK countries.

The instrument also allows cross-border co-operation between legal regulators in the jurisdictions of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the EU regulators. Importantly, this instrument will enable regulators to complete ongoing disciplinary proceedings, as we have heard from the Minister, against EEA, EFTA and Swiss lawyers, which had commenced before the end of the transition period.

In the Explanatory Memorandum, the Government state that:

“The impact of this instrument on business, charities or voluntary bodies is not … quantifiable”,


because it is not known what the individual lawyers will choose to do. Will they continue with unregulated activities, will they undertake regulated activities under supervision, or will they transfer to the domestic legal professions? Having looked at the Explanatory Memorandum, it does not seem to me that there are that many RELs—registered European lawyers—in the country. Can the Minister say whether the RELs themselves have in fact been asked what they plan to do with their activities post Brexit? Have they been directly consulted?

It is clearly right that we should meet all our obligations under the withdrawal agreement and that we should also facilitate and help the lawyers concerned to continue practising law here. Britain’s legal landscape needs to be outward-looking and welcoming. Colleagues with similar qualifications should be welcome to practise here. As has been pointed by the noble Lord, Lord Thomas, this point was made by the Minister in the other place; it is surely the purpose to keep the UK outward-looking and as a destination for legal and financial expertise. So I have another question for the Minister: how will the principles outlined in this statutory instrument be applied to lawyers from the rest of the world—from America and areas outside of those we are discussing today? Of course, they too may wish to come here to practise their professions on some sort of reciprocal basis.

Speaking on behalf of the Opposition, we will not oppose these regulations, but the two speakers before me raised some very pertinent points. The noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope, described the instrument as necessary but regrettable, and he highlighted very effectively the difficulties before us and before the Government. He asked a good question about giving a grace period to the registered European lawyers in their application process. The noble Lord, Lord Thomas, also made some important points about the reciprocity of legal services. I look forward to the Minister’s answers to those questions. Underlying all the points that have been made is the benefit to the UK of keeping the legal profession as open and welcoming as possible while maintaining the high standards that have led us to the strong position that we hope to maintain.