184 / 294
D I SPOSAL OF DOCUMENTS
If you are likely to be disposing of documents please
write to the Public Record Office of Ireland or ring
01-778092 extension 113 before doing so. We shall
arrange for one of our archivists to call to your office
and examine the material intended for disposal. The
archivist willl select those documents which appear to
be of historiacl interest and will ask your consent to
remove them to the Public Record Office which will
defray the removal charges.
It is not intended that this will involve you or your
staff in any additional work; the archivist will be pre-
pared to examine the material in whatever condition or
place it is now kept. A list of the documents trans-
ferred will be sent to you and you wil have the right
of permanent or temporary recall of any item on the list.
With the help of solicitors over the past 50 years and
with the approval of the Incorporated Law Society of
Ireland thousands of legal, estate, business and family
papers have been saved and made available for research.
The office shall be grateful for your co-operation in
this matter.
B. MacGIOLLA CHORDA,
Deputy Keeper of Public Records.
SOLICITORS UNDERTAK INGS
The attention of members is drawn to the risks
attending personal undertakings given by solicitors. A
solicitor who gives an unqualified personal undertaking
is personally responsible financially irrespective of his
ability to obtain indemnity or reimbursement from the
client or any other person. It is suggested that before
giving an undertaking either to pay money, deposit title
deeds, or in respect of any other matter attention should
be directed to the following points.
1. There should be an irrevocable undertaking in
writing by the client to the solicitor authorising him to
give the undertaking.
2. There should be an irrevocable written retainer by
the client to the solicitor continuing until the under-
taking is carried out. This will prevent the client from
changing his solicitor in order to avoid compliance with
the undertaking, an event which unfortunately, although
rarely, has occurred in the past.
3. There should be in existence at the time of the
Undertaking which involves dealing with property an
enforceable contract in writing to which the client is
a party.
4. The undertaking should be qualified by a condi-
tion that it applies only in the event of the deeds or
funds the subject of the undertaking coming to the
solicitor's hands.
5. An undertaking dependent upon the completion
°f a contract by the client should be qualified by a
condition that it binds the solicitor only on completion
of the contract and that if the contract is rescinded by
'he vendor or if he otherfise fails to complete the
solicitor will be absolved from the undertaking.
6. Solicitors for business reasons or because of the
status or standing of their clients may be prepared to
a
ccept the risk attendant on undertakings which are
not covered by the above conditions. It is important
however that members of the Society should be aware
of the risk involved in giving personal undertakings and
for this reason the Council think it advisable to bring
them particularly to the notice of the profession.
IRISH SOCIETY FOR THE
PREVENTION OF CRUELTY
TO CHILDREN
20 Molesworth Street,
Dublin 2.
Please remember the
evergrowing needs
of this Society
when making bequests
under your will.
185