Pour another cup of coffee and make sure it’s strong: Lawyers brace themselves for a flood of client questions post-Brexit vote
Lawyers are unlikely to be short of work for the foreseeable future, as clients raise concerns about what the result of last Thursday's vote means for them.
The number of people registered for a call set up by magic circle outfit Allen & Overy to address questions surrounding the referendum result shot up from 500 to 1,700 the morning the Brexit decision was revealed.
Meanwhile, Clifford Chance has established a referendum war room, which has been manned since the polls opened on Thursday.
"We have been working on the likely implications of a Leave vote for several years now and have established a dedicated 24-hour rapid response unit," said Clifford Chance senior partner Malcolm Sweeting. "Led from London, our EU Referendum Operations Room will connect a core team to specialist advice in the firm's offices in major financial centres across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas."
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A statement from The Law Society's president Jonathan Smithers on the morning of the result read: "It's clear that there is an enormous amount of work to do in the coming months and years to establish the terms of withdrawal from the EU and scope necessary changes to domestic law."
However, although many law firm clients may be fretting about the future, Smithers also stressed: "Amid all the uncertainty, it's important to emphasise there is no immediate change to anyone’s legal rights or obligations."
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Addressing barristers' concerns, chairman of Bar Chantal-Aimee Doerries said in a statement: "Despite all the turbulence, however, I am confident that London will remain a leading centre for international dispute resolution. The reputation of barristers and our judiciary overseas, beyond the EU, is very high and I expect it will remain so in the years to come."