Boris Johnson Elected: What Do UK Lawyers Think?
As Boris Johnson prepares to enter 10 Downing Street, top partners from the likes of Freshfields, Macfarlanes, Ashurst, CMS and Eversheds give their thoughts.
July 23, 2019 at 09:46 AM
7 minute read
At a few minutes past noon today (July 23), Boris Johnson was announced as the new leader of the Conservative Party, defeating rival Jeremy Hunt by securing nearly twice as many votes from party members. But how is his incoming premiership being viewed by the legal sector? Legal Week has garnered reactions from lawyers around the U.K.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer senior partner Edward Braham has high expectations. "Boris was vocal in his support for business during his campaign, and we look forward to working with the new government to secure good outcomes for business and for our economy," he said.
Sebastian Prichard Jones, senior partner elect at Macfarlanes, was also upbeat, saying: "It is good we have certainty as to the leadership. Next, we need some sort of clarity to the Brexit outcome. We can anticipate some pretty unsettling turbulence now, but it feels like we are at last approaching an endgame and irrespective of the bumpiness we may experience in getting there, finality is what our clients tell us they want."
However, others, including Eversheds Sutherland CEO Lee Ranson, feel that Johnson faces "a tough time to take on what is always a tough job". Ranson added: "He has already identified 'Unite' as one of his priorities and it will be vital that this truly is a guiding principle if he is to deliver the certainty that business and the country needs to prosper."
Similarly, David Carter, a corporate partner at Ashurst, said: "My hope is that the seriousness of the situation that the country faces and his obvious desire to be judged well by history means that he will pick the right counsel and get into the detail. Got to have hope…"
In a briefing note last week, Phillip Souta, head of U.K. public policy at Clifford Chance, said: "Renegotiating the Withdrawal Agreement, squaring the circle of the Irish Backstop, and overcoming parliament's intransigence to date is a formidable trio of challenges, even without Boris's ambitions to be about more than Brexit."
Souta also suggested that, after many years of uncertainty, "businesses on both sides of the Channel will be hoping Britain's new leader can bring harmony out of discord sooner [rather] than later".
Meanwhile, Pinsents director of public policy Andrew Henderson said the new Prime Minister "faces a daunting challenge in navigating a path to deliver on the 2016 referendum result, while holding together a deeply divided Conservative Party".
He added: "Business leaders will be keenly observing the early days of Mr Johnson's premiership, for indications as to the type of government he plans to lead and, crucially, the Brexit strategy he now intends to pursue."
In a similar vein, for CMS infrastructure partner Chris Hallam, whether Johnson's leadership is likely to have a positive impact on business remains to be seen. "Mr Johnson's elevation to Prime Minister is, by any reckoning, a quite extraordinary turnaround for someone whose previous experience of high office – whilst memorable – can hardly be said to have been a triumph," he noted.
Hallam believes that "only time will tell whether he possesses the character, drive and attention to be a successful PM", adding: "What is certain is that he faces perhaps the biggest challenge any Prime Minister has faced since the Second World War: to somehow resolve Brexit in a way that keeps not only his (predominantly right-wing) party happy, but the (predominantly not right-wing) wider electorate as well."
But Hogan Lovells public law partner Charles Brasted questioned what the leadership overhaul actually changes, suggesting that, though there will be an undoubted shift in "face and tone", there is little change in content.
"We started off with a government position which was 'Brexit means Brexit' and 'no deal is better than a bad deal'. Is anyone now saying anything different from that?" Brasted asked.
"Clearly, Boris has more enthusiasm for [no-deal Brexit] than others. But there is not much more than tonal change there," he added. "But from our clients' perspective, we can't assume that everything we've done will carry forward. A redoubling of that engagement is going to be required."
Other reactions:
Paul Hardy, Brexit director at DLA Piper and former principal legal adviser to the Houses of Parliament, said: "My view is that the chances of no deal are rising but the means by which it happens are still unclear – that's the conundrum of all of this.
"Boris is still confronted by the same arithmetic calculations in parliament as [Theresa] May. Ultimately, it takes two sides to have a no deal. If the EU doesn't extend the deadline, it doesn't matter if he prorogues parliament, calls a general election or a second referendum – that is it. From my sources, the EU is not going to lend the U.K. a helping hand by extending the deadline. Boris will have to ask for an extension. That will be humiliating and could ruin his reputation.
"My prediction is what will happen will be the same as the last time round at the beginning of the year – the clients who have prepared will be asking when to trigger their contingency plan, and then there will be those who want a second pair of eyes on their Brexit plan and who come to lawyers for that, and the third, more worrying group, who haven't really begun to prepare in earnest yet. We'll see a spike in panicked requests for legal advice."
CMS's Hallam added: "As for where [the result] leaves the legal sector, frankly who knows? But I suspect it makes little overall difference to where things currently stand. As with his predecessor, there is no real certainty as to how he will address the issues faced by Brexit, or when (indeed, if) we leave the EU and on what terms – if any. Perhaps the only certainty we should expect is continued uncertainty.
"What's for sure is that a 'no-deal' crash out of the EU would, undoubtedly in the short to medium term, be very bad for the U.K. and business confidence – and what's bad for the U.K. and business confidence tends not to be great for the legal sector. If – which must be considered unlikely – but if he can pull off a reasonable deal with the EU, then things should be better. But we'd likely still be in a long period of uncertainty as business unwinds and works through whatever that deal means in practice.
"One of Mr Johnson's more memorable utterings – ironically a few years back on his chances of becoming PM – was that it was 'more likely that I will be reincarnated as an olive, locked in a disused fridge and decapitated by a flying frisbee'. Given the political position he has inherited (or, some may argue, created), that quote might be better applied to his chances of making a success of Brexit. I have high hopes, but low expectations."
James Miller, managing partner, RPC, said: "Irrespective of the result, the important thing now for our clients is to have a period of political and economic stability so that they can plan for the future. Whoever had won the leadership vote, we are unlikely to get that stability until the future relationship with Europe is settled."
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllTrump and Latin America: Lawyers Brace for Hard-Line Approach to Region
BCLP Mulls Merger Prospects as Profitability Lags, Partnership Shrinks
Trending Stories
- 1Judge Denies Sean Combs Third Bail Bid, Citing Community Safety
- 2Republican FTC Commissioner: 'The Time for Rulemaking by the Biden-Harris FTC Is Over'
- 3NY Appellate Panel Cites Student's Disciplinary History While Sending Negligence Claim Against School District to Trial
- 4A Meta DIG and Its Nvidia Implications
- 5Deception or Coercion? California Supreme Court Grants Review in Jailhouse Confession Case
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250