If you are an EU lawyer working in the UK you need to make sure you can continue to practise from January 2021.

If you are practising in Scotland you should contact relevant Scottish regulators.

1. Lawyers with English, Welsh or Northern Irish qualifications and professional titles

Lawyers from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland using English, Welsh or Northern Irish qualifications can continue to practise after 31 December 2020. This applies to those who have been admitted to the UK profession through:

• a transfer test
• the ‘3 years’ experience’ route under the Lawyers Establishment Directive.

If you are practising in England, Wales or Northern Ireland with English, Welsh and Northern Irish qualifications you do not need to take any action.

2. Lawyers with EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein qualifications and professional titles

Lawyers with qualifications and professional titles from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein need to take one of the following actions to continue to practise in England, Wales or Northern Ireland after 31 December 2020. The appropriate action will depend on the legal services you practise and business model:

• requalify as an English, Welsh or Northern Irish lawyer with the relevant regulator under routes for foreign lawyers, if you want to provide reserved legal activities
• register as a Registered Foreign Lawyer in England and Wales with the relevant regulator, if you do not want to provide reserved legal activities, but would like to be involved in the management or ownership of a law firm with English and Welsh solicitors
• work under the supervision of an English, Welsh or Northern Irish lawyer
• only undertake unreserved legal activities. You may still need to register with another type of regulator depending upon the activities you choose to undertake, for example the OISC for immigration advice and FCA for claims management activities.

3. Registered European Lawyers (RELs)

EU or EEA EFTA lawyers who are registered with the relevant regulator as a Registered European Lawyer (REL) in the UK will retain their current practice and qualification rights until 31 December 2020 when REL status will cease. During this period, they will be able to requalify as a UK lawyer under existing routes.

If you are a lawyer from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein, working in England and Wales, or Northern Ireland, you should contact your regulator with whom you are currently registered as a REL for specific advice.

If you are a lawyer from the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein working in Scotland you should contact the relevant Scottish regulators for specific advice.

4. Switzerland

Swiss lawyers within scope of the UK-Swiss Citizens Rights Agreement who have registered in the UK as a REL or transferred to a UK professional title do not need to take any action to continue to practise after 31 December 2020.

Swiss lawyers using a Swiss qualification or title, or those in the process of qualifying as a Swiss lawyer at 31 December 2020, and who are within scope of the UK-Swiss Citizens Rights Agreement will need to start their application to register as a REL in the UK or to transfer to a UK profession by 31 December 2024.

Read more information on the UK-Switzerland Separation Agreement.

If you are a Swiss lawyer practising in Scotland, you should contact the relevant Scottish regulator for specific advice.

5. Recognition of qualifications

After 31 December 2020 there will be a new system in place for recognising professional qualifications. Once this new system is confirmed we will update this page with further information.

6. Further information

• The European Commission’s Communication on readiness at the end of the transition period between the European Union and the United Kingdom
• The European Commission’s ‘Brexit Readiness Checklist’ for companies doing business with the UK
• The Solicitors Regulation Authority
• The Law Society
• The Bar Standards Board
• The Bar Council
• The Law Society of Northern Ireland
• The Bar Council of Northern Ireland
• The Law Society of Scotland
• The Faculty of Advocates
• The Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner
• Financial Conduct Authority