Brussels office
The Society has had an office in Brussels since January 1993. It
is a joint office which is shared with the Law Society of England
& Wales and the Law Society of Northern Ireland.
The UK Law Societies are jointly represented by a team of five
people: the newly-appointed Head of the Brussels Office, Mickaël
Laurans (who will take up post in April 2012); Catherine
Howdle (EU Internal Market Policy Adviser); Joanna Kielty
(Justice and Home Affairs Policy Adviser); Laura Merzari (Office
Manager); and Antonella Verde (Administrative Assistant).
The Brussels Office also takes two trainee solicitors on
secondment from firms in Scotland, England & Wales or Northern
Ireland every September and March for six months. Please
follow the link for more details:
Trainee secondment 2012.
What are the roles of the Brussels office?
- To raise awareness of EU law and of opportunities in Europe
amongst Scottish solicitors;
- To monitor developments in EU law and to ensure that they are
compatible with the Scottish legal system - the Society maintains a
long list of the issues which the Office monitors;
- To promote Scottish solicitors and Scots law and to open new
markets for solicitors; and
- To protect solicitors' practice rights in the EU and
world-wide.
What services does the Brussels office provide to individual
solicitors and firms?
With these roles in mind, the Office provides a number of
services free of charge in individual Scottish solicitors and
firms. To subscribe to these e-publications, please email the Brussels office,
specifying contact details and the publications you require. The
Brussels Agenda and Brussels Office Updates can be
downloaded on the right.
The Brussels agenda
This is the Office's monthly electronic newsletter. It
summarises EU developments of interest to solicitors and their
clients. It covers both developments in EU law which affect
professional practice and the way solicitors run their firms, e.g.
advertising, data protection and money laundering rules as well as
developments in substantive law.
Updates
The Office produces a series of detailed Updates on the latest
developments and prospects in subject specific areas. These are
produced on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. Currently, Updates are
available on the following topics:
- Civil litigation
- Company law & financial services
- Consumer law
- Criminal law
- Employment law
- Environmental law
- Family law
- Intellectual property
- Taxation
ECJ Update
The Office produces a monthly summary of the latest EU case law
relevant to practitioners.
Brussels-based services
Providing strategic advice on the EU and lobbying
The Brussels Office can advise you on how best to represent your
clients when lobbying the EU institutions and provide logistical
support in arranging meetings. The Brussels Office can assist with
the identification of EU funding opportunities.
Facilities in Brussels
The Office has hot-desking facitilies for solicitors making the
occasional business trip to Brussels. in addition, it can provide
conferencing facilities for meetings of up to twenty people,
including video-conferencing and a library.
Offering professional opportunities and networking
Through the Law society, the Office helps to organise training
for lawyers on the EU, its institutions and the areas of EU law you
need to know about for your practice, as well as seminars on the
latest EU developments targeted at firms. The Office regularly
organises visits to Brussels, be they general study visits for
firms, groups and faculties, or tailored visits to meet the key EU
officials in your field of practice. It can also help to
provide contact-building opportunities at EU-related events in
Brussels and the UK.