City '˜being held back' by lack of progress over devolution

Larry Gould, founder and chief executive of thebigword, said Leeds said deadlock on devolution meant that the city lacked the structure and ability to make big decisions for itself.

Mr Gould told a round table event for leading members of the Leeds legal services industry that politicians needed “to stop faffing about” and identify a strong leader to stop the city being left behind as Brexit looms.

He said: “New York became great because of the mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg. It had great leadership. Whether you like them or not politically, they made you feel great about being a New Yorker. Our politicians need to stop faffing about.”

His views were backed up by one senior lawyer from a global firm who said: “If you are trying to bring investment into Leeds, who do you speak to? There isn’t that figurehead.”

While the prospect of leaving the European Union without a deal in place for legal services presents uncertainty for the sector, the discussion identified a number of opportunities from the process.

Mr Gould said: “We underestimate how the UK is trusted around the world. People like the British. The Americans love us. There is so much to sell.

“Brexit is disruptive but the British are always great when things are lousy. The UK has great power as a customer to Europe. Germany does not want to lose all the car sales. We spend billions there.”

He added: “This is the world of partnerships now. I urge Leeds law firms to think about opening new offices or forming partnerships with companies in other countries. At the very least, they should localise their websites for other markets.”

Lobby group The City UK has warned that Brexit is a threat to the primacy of English law to govern cross-border trade and investment.

However the Law Society has said Brexit will lead to a surge in demand for legal expertise and guidance.

Some of the lawyers at the event raised concerns about the ability of the UK Government to successfully negotiate trade deals after leaving the EU. One pointed out that it took Greenland four years to hammer out an apparently straight-forward deal over fishing.

The event was attended by representatives from DLA Piper, Gateley plc, Squire Patton Boggs, Walker Morris and the Leeds Law Society.