The news came in a submission to a Government committee with Paul McGarry SC, Chair of the Bar Council, claiming that Irish lawyers could sell more services abroad after the UK leaves the EU pointing out that Ireland will be the only English-speaking, common law jurisdiction integrated into EU legal structures. ‘Brexit has created considerable uncertainty among UK legal services providers concerning their ability post-Brexit to service their clients as before given that they will no longer be in the European legal order,’ it was claimed.
Set to win share of UK legal fees post Brexit
The Irish Times reported that the UK accounts for approximately 10 per cent of global legal services fees and 20 per cent of all European legal services fee revenue with the bulk in London, where it was worth more than €4 billion in 2015. As various European jurisdictions now compete to win a share of this business should it leave England, Ireland should be a strong competitor, according the the Bar of Ireland. ‘Brexit has created considerable uncertainty among UK legal services providers concerning their ability post-Brexit to service their clients as before given that they will no longer be in the European legal order,’ the council submission stated.
Not all good news
However, it was not all good news for the Irish legal sector as the submission also warned of the significant difficulties in civil law for international businesses that operate in Ireland and in the UK as well as across the EU.
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