The Gazette 1994

GAZETTE

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER

1994

Comp l a i n t s, Capp i ng and

t he Cou r ts

Publication of the Lay Observers

Report and Complaints against

Solicitors

The first report by the Lay Observers on

the Registrar's Committee was published

on 3 November 1994. It covers the

period October 1993 to September 1994.

The publication attracted a lot of media

coverage. In a press release issued with

the report, the Law Society emphasised

the positive aspects of the report. The

press release also pointed out that during

the twelve month period under review

the profession as a whole dealt with

literally tens of thousands of clients and

a huge volume of transactions. The press

release welcomed the positive recom-

mendations put forward by the Law

Observers.

The

Evening Herald

published an

article on the report on 3 November

1994 headed "Solicitors hit by

complaints". The report stated that

"Justice Minister Marie Geoghegan-

Quinn was told today that the number

of complaints made against solicitors

was 'disturbing"'. The report stated that

the Law Society was considering

introducing new measures including a

binding code of conduct and that the

observers would be appointed as full-

time members of the complaints board.

The

Cork Examiner's

coverage on

3 November 1994 was inaccurate. The

headline read "Over 1,400 solicitors

complained by public". The facts are

that 1,200 (not 1,400) complaints were

received, and it was 1,200 complaints

received and not solicitors complained

about. The article went on to say that

one third of all Irish solicitors had

complaints registered against them with

the Law Society. This again is

incorrect. On a more positive note, the

article stated that the Law Society

supported the recommendations made

by the Lay Observers report and will be

taking steps to ensure that they are

implemented. The article also referred

to the fact that the number of

complaints should be seen in the

context of the tens of thousands of legal

transactions undertaken by solicitors.

The report concluded that the Law

Society would be addressing the issue

of complaints in the coming months.

The

Irish Press

in an article headed

"1,200 complaints against solicitors"

stated that the number of complaints

was a cause of alarm for the public. It

also referred to the fact that the Lay

Observers found the number of

complaints to be 'disturbing'.

An article appeared in the

Irish Times

on 4 November 1994 headed "Level of

public complaints about solicitors

'disturbing'". This article gave a

balanced account of the facts and it

stated that "one thousand of those

complaints were considered to be

comparatively minor and were dealt

with by the Law Society's own staff."

The report emphasised that the Law

Society lacked powers but that this

problem would be addressed by the

Solicitors (Amendment) Act 1994.

The

Irish Independent

reported the

issue with a headline "Lawyers face

pressure to improve code of conduct"

on 4 November 1994. The report stated

"the Society endorses these

recommendations [of the report] and

will be taking appropriate action to

ensure that they are implemented".

Michael V. O'Mahony

was featured on

RTE radio

News at 1

where he dealt

with the report and the background to

the appointment of the observers. He

made it clear that in terms of the

number of practising solicitors and the

volume of transactions, the level of

complaints was not that high.

The

Southern Star

reported the issue of

complaints in an article headed

"Solicitors image" on 12 November

1994. It referred to 1,400 complaints

when the correct figure is 1,200 and it

also reported that the complaints

referred to one-third of the country's

solicitors and this is also incorrect. The

Sunday World

reported the issue under

the heading "Never Ending Complaint".

Compensation and the proposed

capping of awards.

On 3 November 1994 the

Irish Press

printed an article with the headline

"'Quick-fix' capping of claims

attacked." It reported that the white

collar union MSF had made a

submission to the Minister for

Enterprise and Employment, Ruairi

Quinn arguing against 'capping'. In

their submission they stated that "the

capping of claims would be no more

effective than the abolition of juries in

the fight against rising insurance costs."

John Tierney

of MSF was quoted as

saying "The capped level will simply

become the standard level that most

claims are pitched at. Those below the

average at present would be brought up,

balancing the saving from the 'cap' -

and perhaps leading to higher costs. He

said capping of claims as a 'quick-fix

solution' would not work. He referred

to the "clear injustice to some

claimants." The article reported that the

MSF submission laid the blame of

spiralling insurance costs at the door of

the legal profession, both solicitors and

barristers.

The

Irish Press

featured an article with

the headline "'Compo Culture': lawyers

to blame?" on 4 November 1994.

Although the headline might have

suggested the opposite, the article did

support the argument of the Law

Society that 'capping' would penalise

the victim. The article stated, "Caps

will lead inevitably to injustice in

particular cases for how, it is argued,

can a price be put on the loss of an arm

or a leg that will apply fairly across the

board? They may also prove

unconstitutional." There was criticism

in the article of the 'no foal no fee' type

of advertising carried out by solicitors

and reference was made to the long-

running battle between the Law Society

and Noel Carroll of Dublin Corporation

who is alleging that solicitors are

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