Legal Cheek’s survey of over 800 law students and lawyers delivers resounding result
The final countdown may have begun to the UK’s exit from the European Union on 29 March 2019 — but 71% of the junior end of the legal profession still want to remain part of the EU.
That is the eye-catching result of Legal Cheek’s exclusive Brexit survey of 839 law students and lawyers.
The next most popular version of Brexit among respondents was a Canada-style deal, which received the support of 12% surveyed. A hard Brexit on WTO rules got 9%, a Norway-style departure 6% and the Chequers deal just 2%.
The respondents to the survey were roughly half law students and half lawyers (including trainee solicitors and pupil barristers). There was very little variation in the overwhelmingly pro-Remain views of those studying law and those practising it; 70.9% of the former want to stay in the UK, and 70.7% of the latter. Preliminary results were presented to 200 students at Legal Cheek’s Friday event, ‘What does Brexit mean for future lawyers?’ at Linklaters.
The results show little change to a Legal Cheek survey that we conducted before the Brexit referendum which found 75% of the legal profession wanted to remain.
Brexit has been dominating the legal news of late, with lawyers involved in various legal challenges that broadly aim to prevent departure from the EU. The best chance of Remain supporters may be using these methods to bring about the necessary delays that would be needed to create time for a second referendum. Today a letter signed by 1,500 lawyers demands just this, arguing in favour of a ‘People’s Vote’.
Other pro-Remain lawyers take a more pragmatic view, expressing regret about the referendum result but respecting the democratic process that led to it, and concentrating their energies on making the best of what follows.
