City Lawyers

As might be expected of an area that prides itself on being the global centre for international finance the City of London is not short of law firms or city lawyers. In fact in the square mile that makes up the City of London there are 17,000 practising solicitors which currently accounts for 15% of the total number of solicitors in the whole of England and Wales.

The City of London Law Society is one of the largest local Law Societies in the United Kingdom and is the professional representative body for solicitors and law firms in the city. The other large august body for city lawyers is the City of London Solicitors Company. This is a working company all of whose members are solicitors. This company of city lawyers is a city livery company and is unique among livery companies in that all its members must practise or have practised as a solicitor within one mile of the Bank of England or at Canary Wharf. A solicitor who is a member of the Company is a member of a Livery Company fostering good will and fellowship between City solicitors and sharing in the wider traditions of the City of London.

Close to the western boundary of the City of London can be found the Inns of Court where many a city lawyer will have gained an education in his or her profession. The four Inns of Court are professional associations and every barrister in England and Wales must belong to one of them. The four Inns of Court are Gray’s Inn, Lincoln’s Inn, The Inner temple and The Middle Temple one of which, Lincolns Inn, can trace its origins back to 1422. The Inns of Court have a supervisory and disciplinary function over their members as well as providing libraries, dining facilities and professional accommodation.

The City of London today is best known for its dealings in international finance and many of the city lawyers who belong to the Inns of Court will be involved in all aspects of company law. The disciplines of company law are many and various and encompass areas such as commercial litigation, commercial property, mergers and acquisitions, asset sales, management buyouts, rights issues etc.

In a modern society rules and laws are increasing in scale and complexity especially in an area of high commercial activity such as the city of London. This all points to an increasing need for the services of city lawyers.