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

Lord Thomas of Gresford Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Thomas of Gresford (LD) [V]]

I welcome the experienced speech from the noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope, who obviously has a great deal of experience in this field. I was interested in the debate in the House of Commons, when this statutory instrument was before its Delegated Legislation Committee. Mr Alex Chalk, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, claimed that we are an open society, particularly when it comes to legal practice. He said:

“We want to be a country that continues to attract the brightest and best lawyers from around the world, as long as they are … properly qualified and this is the appropriate place for them to practise.”—[Official Report, Commons, Eighth Delegated Legislation Committee, 22/9/20; col. 6.]


This was a curious thing to say while introducing a statutory instrument which abolishes reciprocity between lawyers in Europe and our own legal profession. There are transitional provisions to protect European lawyers who currently work in this country. They have a limited time, as the noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope, pointed out, in which to seek qualification with United Kingdom legal regulating bodies; after that, they must take their chance with lawyers from all over the world.

Will the Minister explain clearly what routes there are for qualification or permission to practise in the United Kingdom for worldwide lawyers, other of course, than by applying to become members of the Law Society or the Bar and taking the necessary professional examinations? When I wanted to appear to conduct a case in Scotland, the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, had he been here, would have been pleased to know that I was completely intimidated to find the barriers put in the way of a Queen’s Counsel from Wales. It was easier to be admitted to the Bar in Hong Kong or Malaysia or Singapore or, indeed, in the Caribbean.

The noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen of Elie, said on 15 January 2019:

“In the event of us exiting without any deal, there will be no reciprocal rights”


and that the regulations

“are necessary in order that we can establish a position in which all third-party country lawyers will be on the same standing in the absence of a free trade agreement or other agreement with a third-party country.”

He said that it was clearly

“a matter that we would wish to address in future negotiations consequent on our exit from the European Union. This is dealing with the position in the United Kingdom in light of the existing regulatory regime under EU law. Clearly, and quite patently, you could not address the question of how the EU 27 are going to treat our lawyers going forward”.—[Official Report, 15/1/19; col. 177.]

Well, 22 months have gone by since he spoke and we do not seem to have gone forward at all. Can the Minister confirm that, as from the end of the transitional period, UK lawyers will gain no opportunity in future to have rights of audience or rights to practise in EU member states? Are there negotiations for a deal about reciprocity for legal services? If so, what are they?

The noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope, referred to the costly and uncertain outcome of the current position and the blocks placed on qualifications overseas by various countries. The noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, pointed out in a debate on the precursor to these regulations that

“when the regulations were passed … Ireland’s professional body has taken the opportunity to increase the cost of qualifying as an Irish lawyer to practise there from £300 to £3,000.”—[Official Report, 30/1/19; col. 1141.]

Those are some of the blocks to which, no doubt, the noble Lord, Lord Kirkhope, referred.

Mr Chalk asserted blithely on 22 September that:

“We will continue to remain an attractive part of the world, because we believe in upholding the rule of law. Long may that continue.”—[Official Report, Commons, Eighth Delegated Legislation Committee, 22/9/20; col. 6.]


This was only six days after the resignation of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen of Elie, so he can hardly have been unaware of what he was saying. Mr Chalk—who is a very personable and skilled Queen’s Counsel currently working his passage through the Tory ranks—was, I am afraid, somewhat bravely off message. I fear for his future career under the present Administration, who, as we know, have complete disregard for the rule of law, as exemplified not merely by Mr Dominic Cummings’s jaunt to Barnard Castle—now the stuff of legend—but by the provisions of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, which it is the duty of this House to excise. I am sure that Mr Chalk is busy reflecting on his position; a good resignation would see him reconciled to his professional colleagues and likely to flourish in a more sensible future Administration, if the Tories are ever forgiven for this one.