101 UK Brexit Notes

Connemara Programme October 16 2018 pg. 174 use and the conditions for providing services. The Lawyers’ Establishment Directive (Directive 98/5/EC) - a reciprocal arrangement which allows specified lawyers in one Member State to establish and practise permanently in another Member State, under their existing title, and the conditions for doing so (Registered European Lawyers). It also allows lawyers that are practising in another Member State to be admitted to the profession in that Member State, after 3 years of practice without having to go through the usual qualification routes. After March 2019 if there’s no deal If we leave the EU without an agreement, the Lawyers’ Services Directive and Lawyers’ Establishment Directive will no longer apply to the UK and there will be no system of reciprocal arrangements under which EEA lawyers (including UK nationals holding EEA qualifications) can provide services and establish on a permanent basis. We will therefore revoke the implementing legislation and EEA lawyers will be treated in the same way as other third country lawyers. EEA lawyers will be able to practise in England and Wales under the regulatory arrangements and rules that apply to lawyers from other third countries. However, this change will mean: EEA lawyers will no longer be able to provide legal activities normally reserved to advocates, barristers or solicitor under their home state professional title in England/Wales and Northern Ireland. (Reserved activities are: the exercise of a right of audience, the conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities (conveyancing), probate activities, notarial activities and the administration of oaths). EEA lawyers will no longer be able to seek admittance to the English/Welsh or Northern Irish profession based on experience As outlined above, the UK will ensure that professionals arriving in the UK from the EEA after the exit date will have a means to seek recognition of their qualifications. This will include lawyers. We will share details of the new procedure in due course and applicants should contact the relevant regulators at the appropriate time. There will be transitional arrangements for Registered European Lawyers. Scottish regulatory arrangements for EEA and third country lawyers are different to those in England and Wales, or Northern Ireland. These arrangements are without prejudice to the rights and privileges accorded, by virtue of the Common Travel Area, to Irish and UK citizens when in each other’s state. Implications and actions for individuals and businesses EEA lawyers who have already been admitted to the legal profession, allowing them to use the professional title of solicitor or barrister in England/Wales or Northern Ireland on the exit date will be able to continue to practise under that title and provide regulated legal activities, in accordance with the relevant regulator’s rules. They will not need to take any action. EEA lawyers who have applied for admission to the English/Welsh or Northern Irish legal profession prior to exit day (through routes available under either the MPRQ Regulations or European Communities (Lawyer’s Practice) Regulations 2000), and are awaiting a decision on the exit date, will, as far as possible, be able to complete their recognition process under pre-exit rules. Registered European Lawyer status – which allows EEA lawyers to practise permanently in the UK under their existing title - will cease on the exit date. From exit day, EEA lawyers will be treated in the same way as other lawyers qualified in any other third country jurisdiction. Existing Registered European Lawyers will need to consider whether they intend to provide regulated (‘reserved’ in England and Wales) legal activities. If so, they will need to take steps to transfer into the profession of the relevant UK jurisdiction (England/Wales or Northern Ireland) to continue providing those services and should contact their UK regulator for advice. Employers of Registered European Lawyers and other EEA lawyers providing services in England/Wales and Northern Ireland will need to consider whether their employees will provide regulated (‘reserved’) legal activities. If so, they will need to take steps to make sure their employee can continue providing those services, for example by transferring into the profession of the relevant UK jurisdiction, or working under the supervision of a lawyer qualified to undertake those activities, subject to regulatory rules. Employers of Registered European Lawyers and other EEA lawyers should contact their regulator for advice. EEA lawyers who own or manage legal businesses in England/Wales or Northern Ireland will need to consider whether their business model is compliant with the relevant regulatory rules, once Registered European Lawyer status ceases, and should contact their regulator for advice. Further information, including arrangements for third country lawyers, is available from the relevant regulatory bodies: the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board (England and Wales), The Law Society of Northern Ireland and the Law Society of Scotland. Provision of Services Regulations Before 29 March 2019 The EU Services Directive (2006/123/EC) makes it easier for businesses to establish themselves in other Member States, and to provide services cross-border on either a temporary or permanent basis. The Services Directive is implemented into UK legislation by the Provision of Services Regulations 2009. The Regulations simplify the rules for, and prevent unjustifiable barriers to, the provision of services. They ensure that Competent Authorities, including government departments, Devolved Administrations, local authorities and other licensing and authorisation bodies, comply with a set of regulatory principles. The current Regulations set out the following requirements: the Regulations ensure Competent Authorities cannot impose discriminatory, disproportionate or unnecessary requirements on EEA businesses who are providing services on either a permanent or temporary basis in the UK, the Regulations set out the duties of businesses, detailing the requirements for contact details and other information to be made available for service recipients, the Regulations require Competent Authorities to notify the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of new measures, the Regulations set out obligations on Competent Authorities to ensure effective administrative cooperation with their counterparts in other Member States, the Regulations require the government to establish an electronic assistance facility to operate as the UK’s Point of Single Contact, which is GOV.UK .