The Gazette 1979

GAZETTE

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1979

be paid a proper salary. Bank clerks, Civil Servants,

Insurance clerks (all straight out of school) start on

better salaries than newly qualified Solicitors these

days. Are they better qualified for their chosen

profession than we are? . . .

4. Proper working conditions. All we can say is that if

you want a person to do a job properly then do not

put any obstacles in his way. A private office and

Secretary will result in more work and greater

efficiency.

The Employee — Mr. S. O. Licitor

1. Before you prepare your letter of application and

curriculum vitae, consult with a Solicitor, your parents

or someone who has gone through interviews and find

out how to prepare a suitable letter and curriculum

vitae. Your letter of application should then be brief

and to the point. It should contain detrils of

apprenticeship, legal experience and any relevant extra

curricular activities.

2. Before going to an interview you should make

inquiries among the profession about the interviewing

firm, who they are, what type of work they do, so that

you can ask intelligent questions at the interview.

3. The interview. No office wants a person to work for

them who has no experience. If you have had any

experience as an apprentice then emphasise it at the

interview. The object of the interview as far as the

interviewee is concerned is to impress upon the

interviewer that he is capable of filling the vacancy.

Remember you do not have to have worked in a

Solicitor' Office to know how to write a letter.

Do not be afraid to ask questions at the interview.

Ask questions about the office, the staff, the type of

work the office do, the hours, holidays and so on. It

pays to show an interest at the interview.

4. The Salary. This is a difficult subject to advise on.

Some firms start you off on a low salary but give you

a substantial increase after six months once you have

proven your ability. This is a fair system provided you

get the increases. We would consider a low starting

salary to be in the region of £3,000.

In Dublin some offices forget to increase your

salary after 6 months. If your salary is not reviewed

then ask your employers for a reason and if a

dissatisfactory one is not forthcoming then do not be

afraid to leave the office. Never feel obliged to stay at

an office because they offered you your first job. If

they will not pay you someone else will.

The Profession

1. Proper salary guidelines should be arranged for the

benefit of newly qualified Solicitors. This will enable

them to know if they are being underpaid.

2. Some form of information service should be set up for

newly qualified Solicitors to help them prepare for

interviews and also to inform them about their future

employers.

A lot of young Solicitors are having to put up with bad

working conditions and even worse salaries. This should

not happen. It is hoped that this memo might help shart

some discussions with a resulting improvement of

standards all arbund — here's to hoping . . .

S. O. Licitor

MEASURING DAMAGES IN BREACH OF

CONTRACT CASES

Some Recent Irish decisions

Mr. Justice Declan Costello

A lecture on the above subject was given to the twenty-

fourth seminar of the Society of Young Solicitors held in

the Talbot Hotel, Wexford, October 1978 by Mr. Justice

Costello.

Mr. Costello reviewed a number of cases which in the

last couple of years had given rise to important develop-

ments in the law relating to damages in breach of contract

cases and which draw attention to the principles

applicable when a legal adviser is faced with the following

problems:

1. The date on which damages are to be calculated

On this question the Judge referred to the case of

McMahon & Johnson

Longleat Properties (Dublin)

Limited

(19th May 1976) in which after several

unsuccessful attempts to remedy faults in a premises the

Plaintiff had obtained a Bill of Quantities in November

1973 which gave particulars of the cost of making good

the defect which the Plaintiff said still existed. On the case

coming to hearing in 1976 the Court had held that the

Plaintiff was entitled to damages in respect of certain

defects which still existed in the premises calculated only

in accordance with the November 1973 Bill of Quantities

and not the much higher rate prevailing in 1976. The

Judge quoted the judgment of Mr. Justice McMahon in

that case which makes clear that the measure of damages

is to complete the contract work as it was originally

intended in a reasonable manner and at the earliest

reasonable opportunity.

In this regard Mr. Justice Costello also considered the

case of

Quinn & A nor.

Quality Homes & Ors.

(21st

November 1977) where Mr. Justice Finlay, in the case

where a house was so structurally unsound as to be

incapable of repair, had rejected the Defendant's

argument that the Plaintiffs were under an obligation to

mitigate their loss and to take reasonable steps to

purchase another dwelling. The original house had been

purchased in 1973 for £11,500 and its market value at

the date of the trial had it being in proper condition,

would have been £26,500. Mr. Justice Finlay in applying

a test of reasonableness had decided that it would have

been unreasonable to expect the Plaintiffs to purchase

another house when they had a loan of £8,000 out-

standing on the house in question and he measured their

damages at the true market value of the house at the time

of the action.

2. Damages for mental distress in breach of contract

cases

Mr. Justice Costello considered the case of

Jarvis

Swan Tours Limited

(1973) 1. Q.B. 233 where the

Plaintiff had been awarded damages in compensation for

the loss of entertainment and enjoyment on a skiing

holiday which he was promised and did not get. The

principle in this case was applied by Mr. Justice

McMahon in

Johnson's case

(Supra). Mr. Justice Costello

quoted that Judge as follows: "It appears to me that in

principle damages may be awarded for inconvenience or