Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer it appears is leading the move to transfer solicitors from England and Wales to Ireland in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.
According to figures and estimates released by The Law Society of Ireland, the Magic Circle outfit is leading all other law firm in transferring solicitors from England and Wales with 117 transfers.
Freshfields is followed by Eversheds with 86, Slaughter and May with 40, Hogan Lovells with 34 and Bristows with 27. Next are
Herbert Smith Freehills with 25, Allen & Overy with 24,
Linklaters with 20, Clifford Chance with 12 and Shearman & Sterling with 11.
In a
report, the Law Society of Ireland called the spate of admissions a “tsunami” and said it expected a “massive” 1,347” new names to be added to the Roll of Solicitors in Ireland by the end of 2016.
It noted this is almost twice the previous largest total number of new solicitors coming on the roll for a single year when 777 lawyers were added to the Roll in 2008. The increase from 2015 is a staggering 275%, the Law Society stressed.
“The tsunami of new solicitors has been caused by the Brexit-driven transfer decisions of some 810 England and Wales-qualified solicitors to take out a second jurisdictional qualification, in Ireland,” the Law Society wrote in its report.
“This they have been perfectly entitled to do since the mutual-recognition regime between the two jurisdictions was first put in place in 1991,” it added.
Nonetheless, the Law Society said there has been no real boost to the organisation’s finances.
“The €300 per solicitor fee charged for admission to the Roll simply covers the administration cost. Very few of the new solicitors to date have taken out practising certificates here,” it said.
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