UK needs its foreign lawyers

UK needs its foreign lawyers

In order to limit immigration levels in the country, the government recently imposed immigration restrictions in July 2010. The negative impact of such a procedure cannot be stressed enough. Not only has it meant that, from a business perspective, there will be a 'brain drain' but this also extends to the legal sector. This is so because it has essentially meant that there is a lack of non-European Economic lawyers in law firms of England and Wales.

In essence, I am of the view that this is something that the government should re-consider if they are to ensure that the legal firms of the country will thrive and forge as many international links as possible. For example, the gazette highlights the fact that large and small legal firms have flexible structures in order to enable its' workers' to commute freely overseas. This ensures that legal firms are able to benefit from enhanced legal experiences as a result of increased international exposure from workers' commuting to and from different countries (these may not necessarily be EU countries).


Therefore, I agree totally with Lord Justice Sedley's judgement in the case of Pankina that perhaps for regulation purposes and a lack of irratic and scattered decision making on the part of the government, the rules governing immigration may perhaps be subjected to parliamentary discussions.

If the government does not address this issue, I dare say that in the years to come, the legal industry in this country will grow stagnant. In fact, this brings to mind another thought; if any legal scholar is planning on working in England and Wales, everything they would have been working so hard for may all have been in vain as career growth would be limited. However, having said this, it is also worth noting that perhaps an advantage to this would be the fact that there would be more positions available in law firms for home students as well as international students. The overall situation of non-recruitment in legal firms may be resolved after all. What are your views?


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