Lammy: Legal services are hidden UK super-power
The government has gathered a group of leading figures in the law and business into the English Law Promotion Panel with the aim of future-proofing the UK legal sector.
Lord Chancellor and deputy prime minister David Lammy will chair the first meeting of the expert panel today as part of the government’s Industrial Strategy.
It has been tasked with developing a strategy to promote English law internationally.
Among the 20 other members are Law Society president Mark Evans, Bar Council vice-chair Kirsty Brimelow KC, Dame Elizabeth Gloster – chair of LegalUK, set up in 2017 by the Lord Chief Justice to promote English law – LawtechUK panel chair Christina Blacklaws, Professor Richard Susskind, Supreme Court judge Lord Sales and Lord Justice Birss, Chancellor of the High Court.
Earlier this year, the 10-year Industrial Strategy described the legal sector as “a national asset and an engine of economic growth”.
Meanwhile, a report commissioned by the Ministry of Justice and published last month, highlighted how the sector, boosted by liberalising legal services reform, has grown, with openness and competition supporting both inward investment and international trade as well.
Mr Lammy said: “The UK’s legal services sector is a hidden super-power of our economy, generating more than £42.6bn a year and employing more than 364,000 people across the country.
“The use of English law by international businesses is key to that success story and we want to stay ahead of the game.”
Mr Evans welcomed the government’s initiative: “UK legal exports continue to rise reaching £9.8 billion a year. English law governs around 40% of all global business and financial transactions dominating international arbitration. Our legal sector powers the country’s global influence and fuels the economy creating more jobs.”
Fellow panel member James Palmer, chair of legal services for campaign group TheCityUK, added: “The UK’s leading law firms have for decades made significant long term investments in building global businesses and through those promoting English law and the UK courts to international markets, so we are delighted that commercial expertise is being included on this panel.
“The UK legal sector is world leading but operates in an increasingly competitive global market. It is the shared responsibility of government, courts and the sector to support the continued development and promotion of English law to ensure it remains the law of choice for international commerce.”
Other panel members include Kevin Nash, director general of the London Court of International Arbitration; Jonathan Wood, chair of the London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation; Lucy Greenwood, trustee at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators; Clare Ambrose of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association; Marcus Peffers, UK chair of M+C Saatchi; and High Court judge Mrs Justice Joanna Smith.
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