Brexit Task Force

Since the beginning of the Brexit process more than three years ago, Covington’s Brexit Task Force–comprised of over 40 lawyers and former senior diplomats and policymakers, in London, Brussels, Frankfurt, Dublin, and Washington–has been advising clients in a wide range of industries on the challenges and opportunities created by this historic event.

While a number of important issues have been addressed, much uncertainty with regard to future trade relations, regulatory divergence, and economic consequences remains. We will continue to advise clients on the impact and implications of Brexit, including on strategic policy and regulatory issues pertaining to:

• Employment and Immigration: the employment status of EU nationals in the UK, and UK nationals in the EU; workforce planning and minimizing the impact of Brexit on both employee relations and the wider business;
• Corporate: deal opportunities; the likely effect of Brexit on a number of corporate structures established in EU legislation; how to structure EU-UK joint ventures or projects to protect against the likely consequences of Brexit for EU-specific corporate structures;
• Data Protection: the UK's regulatory framework, including UK implementation of the GDPR; data flows after Brexit between (i) the UK and EU and (ii) the UK and other third countries (e.g., the U.S.); status of UK corporate “main establishments;" and EU Model Clauses and Binding Corporate Rule programs post-Brexit;
• Regulatory Integration: risks to business of regulatory fragmentation; the likelihood of securing bespoke agreements for specific sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, air transport, and financial services; strategies to advocate EU-UK regulatory integration in specific fields with UK and EU decision makers;
• Environmental and Product Regulation: the impact on REACH and other EU environmental and product safety rules, and on the different roles of operators in the supply chain;
• Disputes: disputes relating to supply chain disruption, regulatory changes, contractual implications or other Brexit-related issues arising during the transition period or thereafter;
• Cross-border Supply Chains and EU-UK Trade: the likely form of EU-UK trade relations and its implications for trade, manufacturing, and supply chains; work to protect the free flow of goods by region (e.g., special economic zones, sectorial agreements in the free trade area), including public policy and regulatory advice to secure such arrangements;
• International Trade: the likely effect of the models adopted for Brexit on future UK trading relationships with the EU, U.S. and other jurisdictions; the consequences of the UK’s likely position outside the EU Customs Union on rules of origin; restructuring trade flows to minimize disruption and identify opportunities in the models for post-Brexit UK-EU trade arrangements; support and outreach in UK-EU trade negotiations;
• Business Crime: the implications for compliance, regulatory change, and enforcement applying to issues such as bribery and corruption, money laundering, sanctions, modern slavery, and cross-border criminal cooperation relating to investigatory powers and arrest warrants;
• Export Controls and Economic Sanctions: the impact of Brexit on the scope of UK and EU export controls and economic sanctions laws, and associated UK and EU export controls and sanctions licensing processes.   

We are also advising clients on sector-specific issues in:

• Life Sciences and Healthcare: models for the integration or mutual recognition of EU and future UK medicines and medical devices regulatory systems;
• Food and Beverage: supporting companies, trade associations, and conglomerates on a sustainable regime for food and beverages, including tariff negotiations, regulatory alignment, and supply chain restructuring;
• Technology: data protection; copyright, and the UK’s recognition or implementation of pending proposals, and e-commerce and consumer rights;
• Financial Services: assessing the impact of Brexit on the business and planning the response; advising on the restructuring of businesses and corporate reorganizations; advising on cross-border corporate relocation issues; assisting with major document and contractual reviews impacted by Brexit and the response; lobbying the Government and responding to Consultations; assisting industry associations as a member of task force committees and working groups; and advising on the likely impact on the implementation of major EU Directives and Regulations, such as MiFID II.

Resources

Below is a compendium of resources that outline key points about Brexit and its potential impact on industry.

• Brexit and Data Protection - What Now for the UK?, Covington Alert, January 31, 2020
• Brexit Day Marks a Beginning, Not an End, Covington Alert, January 31, 2020 
• Brexit Implications for Litigation, Covington Alert, January 30, 2020 
• Brexit deal's Northern Ireland protocol opens can of worms for medicines, Politico, January 30, 2020 
• Britain leaves its mark on Europe, Politico, January 29, 2020
• Former UK trade minister: Risk of no-deal Brexit remains, but it’s unlikely, CNBC, December 23, 2019
• UK Election Brings Certainty but Concerns Continue, International Financial Law Review, December 13, 2019
• Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn big issues in UK election, former trade minister says, CNBC, December 2, 2019
• Brexit: What’s Next?, Bloomberg, August 28, 2019
• UK data protection law in the post-Brexit world, Thomson Reuters Regulatory Intelligence, July 2, 2019 
• Brexit and Cross-Border Regulations, InCIDA, May 2019
• Brexit and Frustration, Covington Alert, April 4, 2019 
• The Brexit Headaches Keeping Partners Awake At Night, Legal Week, March 28, 2019
• CFTC paves way for no-deal Brexit swaps transfers, Risk, March 26, 2019
• UK Issues Regulations on Post-Brexit Data Protection Law, Inside Privacy Blog, March 25, 2019
• MPs Rule Out No-Deal Brexit Too Late For Corporate Britain, Law360, March 13, 2019
• Brexit: End Game, CNBC, March 11, 2019
• UK regulator provides further ‘no deal’ Brexit guidance for medical devices regulation, Inside EU Life Sciences Blog, March 7, 2020
• Competition Law Enforcement Trends and Developments in the U.S., Europe and China: Looking Ahead to 2019, Covington Alert, March 2019
• European Commission publishes Letter on Exemption allowing for UK Batch Testing post-Brexit, Inside EU Life Sciences Blog, February 26, 2019
• “No Deal” Brexit and the UK State Aid Regime (Part 2), Covington Competition, February 22, 2019
• Deal or No Deal Brexit? The Lowdown for Competition Law (Part 1), Covington Competition, February 22, 2019
• EDPB releases information note in the event of a "No-deal Brexit," Inside Privacy, February 21, 2019
• The Latest Brexit Chaos: What Does it Mean for Derivatives Markets?, Covington Alert, January 28, 2019 
• Maude: May Has No Choice but to Break Her Brexit Red-Lines, Bloomberg, January 17, 2019