Lawyers and Russian clients – critical issues to remember.
06/12/2023
The UK government has imposed restrictions on UK lawyers acting for Russian clients as part of its sanction regime.
Here are the key points:
- A new law introduced on 29 June 2023 prevents UK lawyers from advising Russian companies in certain business deals. This includes trade deals between global corporations or international money lending.
- The law is designed to stop Russia from benefiting economically from the UK’s world-leading legal expertise.
- The new rules extend existing regulations on Russia using UK legal professionals to facilitate certain commercial activity which benefits the country.
- The government’s financial sanctions regime also includes a ban on providing trust services to those connected with Russia.
These measures are part of the UK’s efforts to increase economic pressure on Russia. It’s crucial for UK lawyers to fully understand these restrictions and comply with them to avoid potential legal consequences.
Sources
- https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-law-imposes-fresh-sanctions-on-russia-accessing-uk-legal-expertise
- https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/04/uk-to-exclude-law-from-new-services-ban-to-russia-following-ukraine-war
- https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/press/2022-press-releases/russian-sanctions-bans-trusts/
- https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/uk-law-firms-blocked-doing-transactional-work-russians
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As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.