No man is an island, as the poet John Donne wrote; and when it comes to navigating the legal landscape after Brexit, this idea takes on a new dimension. The UK may have left the EU, but many client businesses and individuals are still affected by the regulatory and legislative implications of differing rules now that the EU’s and UK’s regimes are no longer aligned.
Knowing what’s staying the same and what’s changing — and how — is vital. Clients are looking to their law firms for insight and guidance through this shifting landscape.
Firms need to stay abreast of major and minor Brexit-related developments if they are to maintain client trust and confidence, helping them make the right decisions at the right time and ensure continued compliance with the relevant laws. This includes providing guidance on how UK and EU regulations diverge, what impact this may have and what threats and opportunities it could pose.
New legislations: Clarity is key
As the UK’s detachment from EU framework remains a work in progress and with many of the UK’s new rules still being written, clarity over the current status quo and visibility over what lies ahead can be hard to achieve. Deploying tech tools can be enormously helpful in this regard, helping you cut through reams of information, some of which may be old, irrelevant or incorrect, to get right to the heart of the issues quickly and accurately.
This is an area where Westlaw Edge UK comes into its own. Its content is curated by legal experts so it’s both authoritative and always up-to-date, helping firms stay ahead of what’s happening at every stage and in every aspect of law associated with Brexit and its ramifications for their client base.
Taking the strain out of tracking EU-UK legislative divergence
One of the key features of Westlaw Edge UK is its Legislation Comparison Tool, which enables lawyers to compare and contrast different laws across the UK nations, making it simple to see where differences occur between different jurisdictions.
This functionality has been taken a major step further with the UK-EU Divergence Tracker, which puts retained UK and EU legislation side-by-side, and marks up where they differ. It’s easy to compare the two and assess how divergence might affect a client, so that appropriate action can be taken, in good time.
Learn more about Legislation Compare and UK-EU Divergence Tracker on Westlaw Edge UK.
Normally, this would be a hugely painstaking task, requiring significant time and effort, and running the risk that something important could get missed off the radar, especially since differences continue to emerge over time as amendments are made.
Using Divergence Tracker, the task of comparing texts can be completed far faster and more accurately, leaving lawyers more time to spend advising on compliance strategy and how to mitigate threats and capitalise on opportunities. Plus, it’s no hassle to check for changes over time as amendments made to bills in progress are included.
Deploying a smart toolkit
The UK-EU Divergence Tracker is just one of the smart capabilities in the Westlaw Edge UK toolkit. Using Westlaw Edge UK, it’s easy to find cases that have meaningfully interpreted legislation with Judicial Interpretation. It also provides Case Analytics, which include helpful visual aids for a deeper understanding, and delivers alerts of upcoming legislative changes, as well as the other powerful research resources.
Brexit has significantly and irreversibly altered the legal and commercial environment in the UK and clients are now having to find a roadmap through it, leaning heavily on law firms as they do so. The UK-EU Divergence Tracker puts information and insight at your fingertips so that you — and your clients — can stay up to speed at all times and are prepared for changes before they happen.
Discover more about the UK-EU Divergence Tracker or the other helpful, time-saving features available within Westlaw Edge UK.
