Beating the previous record set in 2008 by more than 500, the Law Society of Ireland will admit 1,347 new solicitors to the Roll of Solicitors by the end of 2016.

The projected figure represents a staggering increase of 275% compared to 2015.

Law Society Director General Ken Murphy said, “The tsunami of new solicitors has been caused by the Brexit-driven transfer decisions of some 810 England and Wales-qualified solicitors to take out a second jurisdictional qualification, in Ireland.”

“This they have been perfectly entitled to do since the mutual-recognition regime between the two jurisdictions was first put in place since 1991.”

He added, “The single word that dominates all assessments of the potential impact of Brexit is ‘uncertainty’. So far, the Law Society of Ireland has no knowledge that any of the England-based firms intend to open an office in this jurisdiction.”

The full Law Society Gazette article containing further detail, including a table of the England and Wales-based firms with transferring solicitors, is available in the November Gazette. 

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