181 / 482
GAZETTE
APRIL 1989
in that it restricts choice and may
inhibit cost effectiveness. Res-
triction should only be allowed to
remain in place if the public
interest requires it and should
extend no further than the public
interest calls for. The onus is on
those who support restrictions to
justify them. Customers for legal
services should be able to
exercise choice according to their
perception of value for money
whether in terms of particular
quality or of price. Suppliers ought
to compete as they each choose
on price alone or in terms of other
marketing strategies. They must
be able to advertise in order to
market their services effectively".
To many in this room, that would
sound completely alien and
contrary to our understanding of
what constitutes a profession and
the delivery of professional
services.
Let me quote to you from the
Restrictive Practices Commission
Report on the Accountancy Pro-
fession in Ireland: —
"The Commission is strongly of
the view that competition
between suppliers of professional
services as with suppliers of
goods and services is desirable as
being in the public interest. Com-
petition in charges is likely to
foster changes in the methods
and costs of providing the service,
resulting in the achievement of
greater efficiency without
reducing the quality of the service.
Established professionals may
become less complacent, the
inefficient and the incompetent
may be forced to improve or cease
practice, and new entrants are
likely to be encouraged to become
established".
WHAT IS A PROFESSION?
George Bernard Shaw asserted
that all professionals are a
conspiracy against the laity and it
may be that Governments are now
tending to agree with him. It
certainly seems to me that the
heyday of the liberal professions
which probably stems back to the
middle of the last Century, may be
coming to a close.
There have been many definit-
ions of what constitutes a profes-
sion but I like to think that one of
the distinguishing factors is that
the
primary objective
is not just to
earn a living but also to take pride
in the standard of skills and
knowledge and to have a sense of
responsibility to the general public,
so that professional bodies such as
the Law Society concentrate on
ensuring that members are properly
educated, before being admitted to
practice, and that education is
continued during professional life
by appropriate Courses; that proper
standards of conduct are maintained
and that disciplinary procedures are
available to ensure this.
SELF REGULATION
What seems to be a developing
view is that restrictions imposed by
a self regulating profession
interfere with the market mechan-
ism and that the predominant
requirement is that Government
set
minimum standards
in any area of
service in the interests of achieving
the cheapest price for the delivery
of such services leaving it to the
customer/client to decide whether
he wishes to pay more for a higher
quality or standard.
Are the limits of self regulation to
be redefined? The argument has
been made, and by me where I have
thought it appropriate, that if areas
that were reserved to our
profession are to be open to others,
then why should we subject
ourselves to a strict system of
self regulation; why not abandon
our standards, why not liquidate
the Law Society and accept the
minimum of standards of conduct
and quality imposed by the Govern-
ment?
We hope we do not have to
proceed on that route. What we
have done over the years is to seek
to improve not just the performance
but the image of the profession.
Not being consumer orientated,
many of our members have not
appreciated that in many ways our
public face is our complaints
handling procedure, and also our
ability to provide Solicitors who will
take actions against their collea-
gues for negligence in appropriate
cases.
In recent years, I believe we have
greatly improved the human face of
our complaints procedures by not
any longer insisting on a written
complaint but being prepared to
give interviews and let people make
their case across a table. In my
view this putting of a human face
on our procedures has improved
this aspect of our image greatly.
1992
The theme of this Annual Con-
ference is 1992, the Single Market,
and all its implications.
The Society will shortly be
subscribing to JUSTIS which is an
on-line European law. database
service. Access will be via a terminal
in our Library and the searches will
be made by our library staff.
On this will be available EC
legislation and case law and also
the up-to-date position on the
progress of measures contained in
the Commission's 1985 White
Paper on the completion of the
Internal Market which should be a
great advantage to the profession.
In the light of the EC Directive on
the mutual recognition of Higher
Education Diplomas, and in the
light of the anticipated recom-
mendations of the Fair Trade Com-
mission Report on the Legal
Profession which is expected
shortly, I think we will have to look
at the state of the profession and
the education of those members
joining it and practising within it.
MERGER OF PROFESSIONAL
LAW SCHOOLS
I have no doubt in my own mind,
but I must express this as a
personal opinion, that the Law
Schools of the Law Society and the
King's Inn should be brought
together and a common training
course developed. I like the idea of
all graduates of this School
spending a period of at least a year
in a Solicitors office and thereafter
those who wish to practice
exclusively in the Courts doing so
by an appropriate period of devilling.
A logical consequence of this
and one much needed in the con-
text of the European Reciprocity
legislation will be a much easier
transfer process between the two
branches of the Profession. In
Scotland, a Solicitor who has been
actively practising for three years
will be automatically admitted to
the Faculty and an Advocate can
transfer similarly.
TRANSFER BETWEEN
BRANCHES OF THE
PROFESSION
Under the EC Directive on the
mutual recognition of Diplomas, it
is likely that the Law Society will
offer an adaptation period of three
years whereby a lawyer from
(Contd. on pagm 172)
167