On June 24, it was announced that the UK public voted to leave the European Union. There will now be a negotiation of a new relationship between the UK and Europe. The fact of the vote itself has no legal effect on the laws of the UK or EU. The UK will remain a member of the EU until there is either an agreement to exit or expiry of a two-year period after issuance of a formal notice of exit by the UK government. That notice, when served, triggers a negotiation period of up to two years during which time the current EU laws continue to apply in the UK. The UK will lose some of its rights to participate in EU political processes during this period.

Shearman & Sterling hosted a second conference call on what Brexit means for business with partners Barney Reynolds, Thomas Donegan, James Duncan, and counsel Kolja Stehl. This distinguished panel of lawyers explored  the key issues — and opportunities — that organizations will encounter as a consequence of the vote, including the timeframe for action and concrete steps to consider.

The call covered a wide range of issues, including the following: 

• UK constitutional issues and how they impact the path forward and international businesses operating in the UK
• English law and jurisdiction as a law and jurisdiction of choice
• Implications for capital-raising, including disclosure obligations
• Corporate issues: what next for Societas Europaea in the UK?
• Tax implications and changes
• Implications for finance and derivatives documentation
• Resolution, recovery and bail-in
• Possibilities for change to requirements for public and private M&A transactions
• Data protection issues for UK companies; new transfers to outside Europe

Listen to the audio of the conference call below.