Public consultations

Public consultations lie at the heart of public policy work and provide vital opportunities for organisations to provide input into the policy process. The public policy practice assists clients in preparing responses to consultations and in alerting clients to the implications of government proposals.

The combination of legal and policy expertise ensures that the responses are targeted, informed and effective.  Public policy lawyers have recently drafted a UK government consultation exercise (at the request of officials) along with a draft Bill.  The public policy practice can also advise on the legal aspects of consultations, including possible legal challenges and statutory requirements.

The public policy practice plays a key role in co-ordinating submissions made by Clifford Chance on a range of issues of relevance to the firm as a significant global business in its own right.

The UK government has consulted on important constitutional changes including abolition of the office of the Lord Chancellor, the establishment of a new Supreme Court, diversity in judicial appointments and the future of Queen's Counsel and the firm has been an active contributor to these debates.

Clifford Chance also regularly submits comments to European Commission consultations in a variety of areas, including financial services, competition law, contract law and others.

The firm is also actively engaged in raising the profile of legal services in the WTO negotiations, and in identifying the difficulties faced by large international firms in practising in a number of jurisdictions.