Immigration
Immigration cap will strangle City law firms, warns Law Society
24th August - Plans by the Coalition Government to impose a permanent cap on immigration will severely restrict UK law firms’ ability to conduct overseas work and prevent firms from attracting overseas lawyers and moving employees from their international offices to London, damaging the UK legal sector's hard-earned international reputation...
The Law Society says that the cap may lead to firms and their clients relocating offices and transactional work disappearing to other jurisdictions, damaging London’s competitiveness as a global financial centre. The new rules will affect all the major City firms that have in the past recruited Australian, South African and New Zealand lawyers into London.
The Society is currently canvassing the profession over the proposed cap and will feed its findings into two consultations on the matter by the Home Office and the UK Border Agency's Migration Advisory Committee (MAC).
Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson says:
"Just when we are pulling ourselves out of a crippling recession, imposing this cap now will strangle City law firms and in turn hit the businesses they act for.
“City law firms operate in a global marketplace and need to be able to recruit and relocate staff around the world. Having access to quality talent from other jurisdictions ensures the legal sector is better placed to carry out its work in the international marketplace.
"By imposing a cap, there is a mistaken assumption that there will be lawyers of equal expertise in the UK and EU, but it is often the knowledge of a particular overseas jurisdiction which is of particular value to a firm.
“The UK legal sector is a huge employer of domestic legal talent, and restrictions on future international business development will mean fewer opportunities for UK lawyers to gain employment and international experience.
"The cap will effectively sever links to some of the world's most important and growing economies, such as India and China, and there is a risk that large amounts of the transactional work that UK law firms engage in will go overseas as a result. It is therefore not surprising that the business community in the City also shares our concerns.
Desmond Hudson adds: "Migrants brought in to work in the legal sector are highly-qualified, well-paid individuals who make a significant contribution to the UK economy. Further, any perception that the English legal market is becoming more closed to overseas lawyers and law firms is likely to result in further restrictions on the ability of UK lawyers to do business abroad.
"The points-based system was introduced to control levels of immigration and has been working well. It has helped maintain the UK legal sector's standing and presence throughout the world. Imposing a cap will bring that trend to a halt."
The Society has already held a consultation meeting with representatives of the UK Border Agency and the Migration Advisory Committee with 70 representatives of both UK and US law firms attending to discuss the cap proposals. The Society has also engaged with City groups outside of the legal sector, including City of London Immigration Working Group, the Greater London Authority, the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the British Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and London First to gage the potential impact on the City as a whole.
The Home Affairs Select Committee has also announced a full inquiry into the issue of imposing a cap and the Society will be making a submission to it.
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