The Gazette 1993

GAZETTE

I M N A GEM N JUNE 1993

Is The Profession Really Under Siege?

Law Society Director General, Noel Ryan, gives his views on current problems facing the profession. Everyone is, presumably, aware by now of the Sunday Business Post article on current problems facing the profession which contained the banner headline 'A profession under siege.' That article has generated debate within the profession, including criticism of the Society itself, which seems to me to merit some response. I believe that we are not a profession under siege, as the article appeared to suggest, but we might be in danger - if we do not stand back from some of the issues - of becoming a profession with a siege mentality. Some of the contributors at the meeting of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association on 28th April - all well-intentioned people who, quite clearly, have the concerns of the profession at heart - reacted defensively and took issue with the Society's handling of current difficulties. Our public relations policy, in particular, came in for strong criticism. There is, I believe, a reasonable answer to the points. The profession has, undoubtedly, cause for concern at present about some of the problems besetting it. The President of the Society, in his recent letter to the profession, has touched on a number of these. The recession is hitting the profession dwindling volume of legal work. The profession is concerned also about some recent serious cases of default which have created problems in relation to the Compensation Fund. And, above all, there is a perception that the general drift of Government policy at the present time appears to be working against the interests of the profession. It is understandable that, against this background, there hard and there are too many solicitors chasing a static or

should be questions about the direction of Society leadership.

that it might be wise for the Society to have a power to vary the contribution to the Fund for different categories of solicitor. For example, the point is sometimes made that those who do not handle clients funds, should not be asked to pay as much as those who do. The use of any such power would, of course, be at the discretion of the Council. However, another view prevailed and the Government has been asked to remove the provision from the Solicitors Bill. That issue, as well as other events of more recent times, has sparked off a debate within the profession about the role of the single practitioner and whether it is in the long-term interest of the profession that such a high proportion of solicitors should be single practitioners. There is nothing inherently wrong with that so long as it is seen for what it is, a discussion, where no fixed positions have been taken and nobody is under threat. It is right and proper that the Society should debate issues openly, as policy questions arise. And, it is surely also legitimate for members who have genuine and well- based concern about the fact that most of the cases of default have concerned single practitioners to say so without giving offence or being taken as casting aspersions on the integrity of the great majority of those who, as single practitioners, have in the past and will continue to serve the profession well. effectiveness of the Society's public relations policy. The Law Society has always defended the interests of all the profession and will continue to do so. It cannot, however, move mountains nor can it disperse the critics of the profession simply by telling them to 'go away'. Nor, of course, will members of the Oireachtas or Government Ministers I 131 There has been some adverse comment on the direction and

I believe that those who observe closely the work of the Society will be aware of the enormous efforts that have been made in recent times on behalf of the profession. It is a mistake, in my view, to believe that the enemies of the profession are all around us and that, unless the Society is seen to be 'slaying dragons' left right and centre, it is not doing its job. The recent debate about the role of the single

Noel Ryan practitioner has illustrated that there is, undoubtedly, a problem about the Society getting its message across to the general membership. It seems that some members have become apprehensive that the Society is formulating policies that are directed against the interests of such an important segment of the profession as single practitioners. Nothing of the kind is, of course, in contemplation. The only item of policy that has arisen, and then solely in the context of the Solicitors Bill - where an opportunity arises once in a generation to get provisions in the law that might be needed in the future - was a view