*/
The Bar Council is preparing for what the future might look like outside the European Union, under a new Prime Minister and a new Lord Chancellor, writes the Chairman
Usually at this time of year, with the court recess and holidays around the corner, there is little news.
However, 2016 is proving in many ways to be a year that we will remember. This July we are left absorbing the follow-on from the vote in favour of Brexit, a new Prime Minister Theresa May, and a new Cabinet including a new Lord Chancellor, the Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP.
What will Brexit mean for each of us? Our answer may well depend upon how we voted, our practice areas, and our personal circumstances. Looking further ahead, the Bar cannot afford to be a mere passenger on this journey, which is why the Bar Council is preparing for what the future might look like outside the European Union. The Bar Council did not take a public position on how people should vote in the run-up to the referendum. We engaged with the issues through the publication of informative and detailed papers on the possible consequences of remaining or leaving, and we hosted a debate together with Lincoln’s Inn EU Group.
What is clear is the Bar’s continued commitment to working together with our partners in Europe and beyond, even if the UK, in future, is no longer within the EU. These connections are more important than ever. We will maintain strong links for the profession in overseas markets and will send a clear signal to our colleagues overseas that despite the referendum result, the Bar of England and Wales remains open for business and a partner for other Bars around the world. This matters both for business and from a rule of law perspective.
Our role now is to lobby on behalf of the Bar to ensure our interests are protected going forward and to keep the Bar informed of developments. I have asked Hugh Mercer QC to chair the Bar Council’s Brexit Working Group, whose role will be to consider the ramifications of Brexit for the profession as a whole, for certain practice areas, for chambers and entities and for the justice system more broadly. It will look at issues as wide ranging as the practice rights of barristers who have an EU practice, the future of the UK as an international dispute resolution centre, and tax and immigration ramifications. The working group will aim to co-ordinate with other groups and ensure that there is a single portal of information for the Bar on the Bar Council’s website which will include links to other working groups that are relevant to practitioners.
The group’s first step was to host an open forum for barristers to raise issues which they would like the working group to consider. A matter of some urgency will be securing free movement of lawyers within Europe and other jurisdictions where barristers currently benefit from European trade agreements. I would like to be clear that the Bar Council’s working group will not be seeking to influence the government’s decision to leave or remain in the EU, on which the Bar Council maintained, and continues to maintain, a politically neutral position. Instead, the Bar Council will seek to inform the public debate on the issues where they affect the profession, and our justice system. We will also seek, where possible, to provide practical advice to barristers. If you are interested in knowing more about the working group we are setting up, please email: Brexitwg@barcouncil.org.uk.
More broadly, we will need to ensure that the new government, and the new Lord Chancellor, is committed to our justice system and the funding of it, including publicly funded work. We will continue to ensure that the Bar’s voice is heard. I wish you all a good summer and a decent break from the pressures of work.
Contributor Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC, Chairman of the Bar
Working on your behalf:
A glimpse of just some of the Bar Council’s work in June 2016:
Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC is the Head of Atkin Chambers and was 2016 Chair of the Bar of England and Wales.
Usually at this time of year, with the court recess and holidays around the corner, there is little news.
However, 2016 is proving in many ways to be a year that we will remember. This July we are left absorbing the follow-on from the vote in favour of Brexit, a new Prime Minister Theresa May, and a new Cabinet including a new Lord Chancellor, the Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP.
What will Brexit mean for each of us? Our answer may well depend upon how we voted, our practice areas, and our personal circumstances. Looking further ahead, the Bar cannot afford to be a mere passenger on this journey, which is why the Bar Council is preparing for what the future might look like outside the European Union. The Bar Council did not take a public position on how people should vote in the run-up to the referendum. We engaged with the issues through the publication of informative and detailed papers on the possible consequences of remaining or leaving, and we hosted a debate together with Lincoln’s Inn EU Group.
What is clear is the Bar’s continued commitment to working together with our partners in Europe and beyond, even if the UK, in future, is no longer within the EU. These connections are more important than ever. We will maintain strong links for the profession in overseas markets and will send a clear signal to our colleagues overseas that despite the referendum result, the Bar of England and Wales remains open for business and a partner for other Bars around the world. This matters both for business and from a rule of law perspective.
Our role now is to lobby on behalf of the Bar to ensure our interests are protected going forward and to keep the Bar informed of developments. I have asked Hugh Mercer QC to chair the Bar Council’s Brexit Working Group, whose role will be to consider the ramifications of Brexit for the profession as a whole, for certain practice areas, for chambers and entities and for the justice system more broadly. It will look at issues as wide ranging as the practice rights of barristers who have an EU practice, the future of the UK as an international dispute resolution centre, and tax and immigration ramifications. The working group will aim to co-ordinate with other groups and ensure that there is a single portal of information for the Bar on the Bar Council’s website which will include links to other working groups that are relevant to practitioners.
The group’s first step was to host an open forum for barristers to raise issues which they would like the working group to consider. A matter of some urgency will be securing free movement of lawyers within Europe and other jurisdictions where barristers currently benefit from European trade agreements. I would like to be clear that the Bar Council’s working group will not be seeking to influence the government’s decision to leave or remain in the EU, on which the Bar Council maintained, and continues to maintain, a politically neutral position. Instead, the Bar Council will seek to inform the public debate on the issues where they affect the profession, and our justice system. We will also seek, where possible, to provide practical advice to barristers. If you are interested in knowing more about the working group we are setting up, please email: Brexitwg@barcouncil.org.uk.
More broadly, we will need to ensure that the new government, and the new Lord Chancellor, is committed to our justice system and the funding of it, including publicly funded work. We will continue to ensure that the Bar’s voice is heard. I wish you all a good summer and a decent break from the pressures of work.
Contributor Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC, Chairman of the Bar
Working on your behalf:
A glimpse of just some of the Bar Council’s work in June 2016:
The Bar Council is preparing for what the future might look like outside the European Union, under a new Prime Minister and a new Lord Chancellor, writes the Chairman
Making a move from the Bar to a career in governance: Maria Brookes outlines three good reasons to switch and how to do it
Inés Rivera explains how speech recognition can help barristers create accurate documentation faster
What should barristers be doing on the personal finance front ahead of the end of the tax year on 5 April? Julian Morgan of Fleet Street Wealth answers your questions
Are you ready to embark on this arduous but potentially rewarding journey? Julie Gottlieb of Sherwood PSF Consulting provides a self-examination checklist, hints and tips to help you prepare for a future application
Unlocking your aged debt to augment cash flow in one easy step… By Philip N Bristow of Vector Professions Finance
The Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice, set up to revisit the work of the CCRC after 25 years of operation, identified serious issues that risk miscarriages of justice remaining unidentified or unremedied. By Edward Garnier QC Michelle Nelson QC
Unsparing in his criticism, the former Attorney General reflects on recent events in government and his own experience of being chief legal adviser. Interview by Anthony Inglese CB
Making a move from the Bar to a career in governance: Maria Brookes outlines three good reasons to switch and how to do it
Sports coaches will be caught by a change in the law that addresses the disparity in treatment for 16- to 17-year-olds, writes Cameron Brown QC
Dissent and protest are a healthy safety valve for every democracy, write Sailesh Mehta and Caroline Baker, yet recent events have put the proposals around policing public protest under the spotlight and many do not like what they see
.tmb-carlisting.jpg?sfvrsn=1dbaf4a7_1){kind=avatar}