Government lawyers are preparing to receive nine legal challenges to sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Gazette understands. The challenges, at least some of which are expected to come to court this year, have prompted the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to set up a dedicated sanctions litigation unit.

Two legal challenges to sanctions designation, brought on behalf of technology company Synesis and the oligarch Eugene Shvidler, have already failed in the courts.

Meanwhile, City lawyers warned this week that tougher controls on legal professionals acting for sanctioned Russians ‘criminalise a whole range of legal advice’. The ‘severe unintended consequences’ of regulations announced in June include banning the provision of legal advice to multinational companies seeking to ensure they are not breaching sanctions, the City of London Law Society said.

In-house lawyers working for multinational companies would be barred from advising their employers on sanctions imposed by non-UK jurisdictions. This could ultimately increase the risk of non-compliance, the society observes. ‘Our member firms have reported multiple instances of these issues creating problems,’ it states.

The Law Society of England and Wales said it is working with government and sanctions compliance experts to address the workability of the regime. Describing the government’s publication of a general licence to cover legal advice as ‘only a sticking plaster’, the Society called for ‘significant amendments’ to the regulations.