New panel features lawyers, judges and academics
Lord Chancellor David Lammy has brought together a new line up of legal and business heavyweights as part of a plan to keep the UK at the top of the global legal services pile.
The freshly assembled ‘English Law Promotion Panel’ meets for the first time today at the International Dispute Resolution Centre in London. It brings together senior lawyers, judges, academics and major business groups including the CBI and TheCityUK.
The legal big names around the table include Bar Council vice chair Kirsty Brimelow KC, Law Society president Mark Evans, LegalUK chair Dame Elizabeth Gloster, Professor Richard Susskind, Supreme Court justice Lord Sales, chancellor of the High Court Sir Colin Birss and chancery judge Mrs Justice Joanna Smith.
The aim is to carve out a strategy to boost the UK’s £42.6 billion legal sector and make sure English law remains the go to choice for international business.
The new body forms part of the government’s ‘Modern Industrial Strategy’ and will look at how to maintain the appeal of English law as rival jurisdictions work to tempt global businesses away. Lammy, who is also deputy Prime Minister, said the sector is a “hidden super power” and stressed that staying ahead of the competition is key to protecting jobs and international confidence.
He said:
“The use of English law by international businesses is key to that success story and we want to stay ahead of the game. Today I am bringing together legal and business leaders to make sure the UK remains the jurisdiction of choice and continues to champion the rule of law around the world.”
English law has long been one of the most popular choices for cross border contracts thanks to independent judges, high quality courts and a disputes system that enjoys global trust. It already governs £250 billion worth of global mergers and acquisitions and around 40% international corporate arbitrations.
Lammy’s new UK law promotion team comes less than a week after he unveiled controversial plans to scrap jury trials for offences carrying sentences of under three years, part of a major criminal justice shake up aimed at cutting the huge case backlog.