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Report helps EU lawyers navigate Russian sanctions

A recent CCBE/ELF webinar provided information on EU sanctions and how they impact lawyers, and discussed how bars and law societies were responding to the measures.

The organisers, CCBE and ELF, have since published a Report on the webinar which took place on 15 June.

The webinar heard that the outreach aspect of the role of barristers’ and solicitors’ representative bodies could be to develop a sanctions-compliance approach for lawyers that was tailored around resources provided by the EU and competent authorities in member states.

Emma-Jane Williams of the Law Society was among the speakers.

Sanctions lists

The webinar was told that firms should consider whether legal services or payments have been, are, or are about to be provided to clients or third parties from, or connected to, Russia and Belarus. They should then document the outcome.

Firms who may be exposed to Russia and Belarus were advised to check sanctions lists, identify the relevant law, and ensure compliance if any hits were found.

Firms were also urged to ensure that all relevant staff were aware of, and fully understood, their obligations under the sanctions regime. Solicitors in Ireland can access the latest information relevant to them by visiting the Law Society’s Sanctions Resource Hub www.lawsociety.ie/sanctions.