133 / 216
December, 1942]
The Gazette of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland
31
from its members and I do not think that
the amount
should deter anyone
from
joining.
I would, therefore, particularly ask
all members to impress on any Solicitor who
is not a member, the real desirability of his
joining, and more particularly, would I ask
members to impress on their apprentices who
are nearly out of their time that, as a matter
of loj'alty, they owe it to the Society who
has done so much for them during their
apprenticeship, to become members and pay
their annual subscription.
There is another matter to which, perhaps,
I should refer, and that is the question of
the new Solicitors' Bill, which is now practic
ally in its final form. You have just heard
the minutes of the last Special Meeting of the
members of the Society read and signed.
At that meeting a few minor suggestions
were made for further improvements in the
Bill and these suggestions have all been
considered and some of them have been put
to Counsel to see if there is any practical
difficulty in the way of their acceptance.
Subject to this, I think it may be said that
the Bill is in its final form, so far as the
Society
is
concerned.
It will go before the
new Council at a very early stage and, as
you know, the General Meeting has directed
that the Council should then take such
further steps as it may think right or proper
to endeavour to have this Bill put through
both Houses and passed into law.
You are already familiar with its main
provisions and all I would like to say is that
we hope and believe that if and when the
Bill becomes law it will tend to the better
regulation of the Profession as a whole and
will give an added protection to the members
of the public who are our clients.
The Report which you have in your hands
deals very fully with most of the other
matters that came before the Council during
its year of office and I do not think that I
can add very much to what is set out therein.
Another point I should, perhaps, refer to
is the overcrowding of the profession.
It is
a matter of common knowledge that the
Solicitors' profession
is attracting to its
ranks more newcomers than it can possibty
absorb. Newly qualified Solicitors are finding
it increasingly difficult to obtain employment
or, if they set up on their own to acquire a
practice, sufficient to provide for running
expenses and leave any adequate margin.
Such overcrowding,
in
the view of
the
Council,
is not * good from a professional
point of view and is definitely bad from
the point of view of the pubTic, but is even
worse from the point of view of the new
comers and their parents. The latter have
incurred very heavy expenses in payment
of apprenticeship
fees, stamp duty and
licence fees, and it must be very disheartening
when, at last their sons are qualified, to find
that there is no opening before them.
I
know that many other professions are com
plaining also of overcrowding but I would
strongly urge parents to give this question
their most serious consideration before decid
ing to make Solicitors of their sons. What
the public hardly realise is the very heavy
expenses which Solicitors have
to incur
in maintaining office staffs, etc., and from
my own experience I can say that between
60 and 70 per cent, of the professional fees
earned is absorbed
in payment of such
overhead expenses.
Before I close I would like to say how much
we will miss Dr. Quirke from the Council.
It came as a great shock to me to learn that
he was not allowing his name to go before
the members for election. He has served
the Society faithfully and well for many
years and his fellow members on the Council
were always deeply appreciative of his
sound judgment and ripe experience which
he so willingly placed at their disposal. ~
I do not propose to delay you any longer,
but have great pleasure in moving that
the Council's Report for the year be adopted.
Mr. Hayes seconded the adoption of the
Report which was carried unanimously.
The Press, having withdrawn
by
request,
Mr. McLoughlin, Mr. P. C. Moore and Mr.
Grynn addressed the Meeting on domestic
matters.
Mr. W. S. Hayes, having been moved to
the Chair, Dr. T. G. Quirke proposed that
the best thanks of the Society be given to
the President for his distinguished services
to the profession during his year of office.