323 / 432
GAZETTE
OCTOBER 1994
Law Fi rms in Limer ick
Forget the image of dusty, musty
solicitors' offices with files on the
floor, quill pens and ink. On a recent
trip to Limerick, the
Gazette
visited a
, number of Limerick law firms and
found elegant, spacious and airy
offices, a client-friendly culture, and
practitioners with a positive outlook
about the business of being a solicitor
and the prospects for the future.
(See photographs on facing page)
Fahy & Co.
First stop was at the firm of Fahy & Co.,
in St. John's Square. The firm is run by
Siobhain Fahy,
a sole practitioner, who
following a period of two years
employment in Limerick Corporation,
set up her own practice in 1984.
In 1990 she acquired the site of the
former Father Brendan Walsh School,
built in 1988, which provided primary
education for local children in the
area. The school closed in 1964 and
for ten years after that was a local
community youth centre.
Siobhan Fahy had the building
completely renovated, giving her
architect a specific brief that she
wanted the offices to appear accessible
and welcoming but not with an overtly
legal aura. The result is a bright, airy
office, decorated in soft mauves and
pinks, with an attractive array of prints
and paintings on the wall. The interior
of the one-up, one-down schoolhouse
was restructured to create a large and
welcoming reception area complete
with comfortable sofas, current
magazines, and, in winter time, an
open fire burning in the fireplace. On
the upper level there are five offices, a
boardroom that seats eight persons and
an open plan secretarial work area.
Siobhan Fahy feels that the
acquisition of the premises was a good
business move. She particularly likes
being in the heart of a community and
finds it endearing when clients remark
that they went to school there or that
they remember the premises when it
was a youth club.
The ambience of her office reflects
her attitude towards clients. She
believes that it is important to
demystify the law for clients.
"Following through with information
to a client is vital and I believe that it
is important to answer telephone
calls promptly and to be as accessible
as possible."
Asked if she thinks it is a good time to
be in practice, she says that she is
fortunate to have been established in
practice for ten years and believes that
the climate for young solicitors
starting out now is much more
difficult. In her experience practice
has changed dramatically in the past
ten years; clients expect a faster and
more efficient service and demand
results. The growth in numbers
entering the profession has led to a
healthy degree of competition which
she believes is good for the profession
and the public. She believes that the
Law Society cannot stop the tide of
entrants but feels that the Society
could do more to generate a positive
perception of the profession.
In her opinion, the Society should be
more pro-active in defending the
profession and explaining the realities
of the practice of law to the public.
For example, she feels that the Society
should do more to explain the problem
of delay and to highlight that
frequently delays are not the fault of a
solicitor but are instanced by the lack
of resources made available by the
Government.
Another problem which she feels the
Society should tackle is the growth in
the amount of unnecessary
bureaucracy imposed on solicitors by
banks and other financial institutions.
"The Society should liaise with the
banks in an effort to eliminate
paperwork and bureaucracy where it is
unnecessary because it is time-
consuming and costly and, in many
cases, the cost cannot be passed on to
the client."
Asked about the advantages versus
disadvantages of practising as a sole
practitioner, Siobhan Fahy identified
an advantage as being that a sole
practitioner is in control of the way
his or her firm develops and the type
of work that the firm does. The most
difficult aspect of being a sole
practitioner, she feels, is bearing all
the responsibility for running a
practice alone. It requires a huge
effort to maintain a "hands on
approach" to the running of the office
and maintaining contacts with clients.
"Sometimes it cannot all be achieved
within normal office hours," she says.
Holmes O'Malley Sexton
There is a welcome on the mat -
literally - at the entrance to
Holmes
O'Malley Sexton
at 5 Pery Square.
The practice moved into the
imposing Georgian house, the
original home of the Holmes family,
in 1980. Following progressive
expansion throughout the 80s, the
practice now occupies three floors
in the neighbouring house at
number 4.
In the spacious reception area,
tastefully decorated in green and blue,
a plan on the wall gives an indication
of the scope of the practice. 14
solicitors practise in the firm and the
total number of staff is 50, including
six apprentices.
Pat Barriscale,
who practises in his
firm and is also Secretary of the
Limerick Bar Association, sums up
the firm's approach to client care in
one word: "service". He says the
firm does very little advertising
because it is very difficult to
determine the results of advertising,
if any. The best advertising is
by word of mouth from satisfied
clients.
299