The Gazette 1993

JAZETTE

APRIL 1993

N W E

S

SYS Spring Conference

The Spring Conference of the Society of Young Solicitors was held in the magnificent Adare Manor on the weekend of 5 - 7 March, 1993. Delegates from all over the country gathered in the hotel's Tack Room on Friday evening for drinks and a disco which went on until the early hours. The Conference began with a panel discussion on "The increasing importance of the Compensation and Registrar's Committees of the Law Society", which was chaired by Noel Ryan, Director General of the Law Society. Ward McEllin, Chairman of the Law Society's Compensation Fund Committee, advised the conference delegates of the current pressures on the Fund is as a result of the increasing number of claims. He said he was hopeful that the ongoing negotiations on the Solicitors Bill would firstly, redress the balance in favour of the profession following the Supreme Court decision in the improper conduct on the part of solicitors to the criminal code; and thirdly, place a limit on the level of any one claim that could be made on the Compensation Fund. He also stressed the need for quicker reporting by the profession to the Law Society of improper conduct by a practitioner so that a substantial claim on the fund could be reduced or avoided altogether. The conference was told that the Law Society intended to be ruthless in its pursuit of improper conduct and in ensuring compliance with the solicitors account regulations. He advised practitioners who found themselves in difficulty to use the Practice Advisory Service which was established to assist practitioners with their affairs. TSB case; secondly, impose a criminal sanction subjecting

Gerard Griffin, former Chairman of the Registrar's Committee, stated the Committee could make two findings, either no complaint or that the complaint required to be referred to the Disciplinary Committee of the High Court. The Conference was told that during the period August 1991 to August 1992 over 1,500 complaints were received by the Registrar's Committee, 33 of which were subsequently dealt with by the Disciplinary Committee. The vast majority of complaints were cleared by the Law Society's secretariat. It was found that an early response by a solicitor to a dissatisfied client usually resolved the matter. He urged members to respond instantly to the Law Society when notified of a complaint so that the matter did not escalate. Medical Negligence The second topic, "Recent fiends in Medical Negligence", was a lively and interesting debate on this increasingly important area. John Dillon-Leetch, Dillon-Leetch & Sons, gave a comprehensive view of the obstacles to be met by practitioners dealing in this area and stressed the need to obtain expert medical evidence before issuing proceedings on behalf of a client. He called on the medical profession to be more forthcoming with information and documentation and not to proffer explanations from the witness box. Dr. John Murphy, paediatrician in Holies Street Hospital and Editor of the Irish Medical Journal, gave an entertaining and informative response. He stressed the need to avoid unsubstantiated claims against the medical professional as they have the effect of jeopardising proper medical care. He referred to a recent US case, where a doctor was successfully sued for not describing the benefits of a particular form of treatment! Dr. Murphy criticised the

delays inherent in the legal system and the adverse effect of a claim hanging over a member of the medical profession for a protracted period. However, he agreed that medical records should be made more easily available and legible at that. Finally, he referred to the "standard of care" issue and suggested that the Irish courts should be aware of the differing standards of health care available in the different jurisdictions and that foreign experts' evidence should be viewed accordingly. Finally, Nicholas Kearns SC presented a comprehensive and valuable paper to the conference (a copy of which is available from Delphine Kelly, c/o A & L Goodbody). He referred to key recent cases and their impact on the law of medical negligence with particular emphasis on the doctrine of res ipsa loquilor and its interpretation. He said that great caution should be exercised before deciding to institute a medical negligence suit as the costs are substantial if the case is withdrawn at a late stage. Given the development of the law in this area he suggested that in many instances a medical negligence suit has to be regarded as something of a poisoned chalice. The social activities were, as ever, highly enjoyable. The SYS would like to thank all the speakers and our sponsors - Investment Bank of Ireland, Solicitors' Financial Services, Norwell, Butterworths (Ireland) Limited, Sweet & Maxwell, Dooley & Co., Baileys, Oaktree Press, The Lawyer, Doyle Court Reporters, The Round Hall Press and Rochford Brady - who made the weekend possible. Thanks are also due to the sub-committee (Gavin Buckley, Walter Beatty and Paul White) who organised the event. •

Gavin Buckley, Public Relations Officer, Society of Young Solicitors

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