Data released by the Law Society of Ireland shows that a record 810 England and Wales-qualified solicitors have been admitted to the Irish Roll of Solicitors over the course of 2016 – an increase of 275 per cent on last year, when only 101 England and Wales-qualified lawyers applied for qualification in Ireland.  The previous admission record, set in 2008, falls shy of this year’s figure by more than 500 lawyers. Together with new local qualifiers, Ireland will have an additional 1,347 lawyers by the end of this year.

‘Tsunami’ of new solicitors

At the front of the charge is Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, which has registered 117 solicitors on the Irish roll this year. Also chalking up substantial applications for are Eversheds and Slaughter and May, which have each registered 86 and 40 lawyers in Ireland this year respectively. Law Society of Ireland director general described the onslaught of applications as ‘Brexit-driven’, suggesting that many lawyers want to take out a second jurisdictional qualification as a precaution. He said: ‘The single word that dominates all assessments of the potential impact of Brexit is “uncertainty”. So far, the Law Society of Ireland has no knowledge that any of the England-based firm intend to open an office in this jurisdiction.’

Sources: Legal Business; The Lawyer