UK law firm Fieldfisher readies for Brexit with Irish merger

UK law firm Fieldfisher is to merge with Irish firm McDowell Purcell, as the legal sector in England and Wales steps up preparations for Brexit. Since the June 2016 referendum, lawyers in England and Wales have rushed to join the Irish Roll of Solicitors in an effort to protect their rights to practice in the EU after the UK leaves the bloc. There were approximately 2,200 such applications from 2016 to 2018, according to the Law Society of Ireland. Of the 18,460 solicitors on the Irish roll, more than one in ten qualified in England and has joined since the Brexit vote. So far, however, few UK firms have established offices in Ireland: Pinsent Masons opened an office in Dublin in late 2017, while DLA Piper, one of the biggest law firms in the world, has announced plans to follow suit.