Ukrainian Bar Association addressed the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) with a request to update Guidelines for Legal Practitioners and indicate that business relations with Russian clients who are affiliated with the Government of the Russian Federation are against the rule of law principle and objectives of the sanctions imposed by the British Government.

On 4 March 2022, the SRA prepared and published guidelines for legal practitioners called “The importance of complying with Russian financial sanctions”.

Among other things, the guidelines seek to answer the question asked by some firms “about whether or not they should stop representing clients because they are Russian or have links to the Russian regime, even though they are not named on the sanctions list".

UBA urges SPA to update the guidelines in question and other relevant regulations and clearly specify for legal practitioners that business relationships with natural or legal entities affiliated with the aggressor countries are against the rules of law and efforts of the international community to stop – by economic rather than military means – the war of aggression.

The full text of the letter is available at the link.