The Gazette 1993

GAZETTE

N W

JUNE 1993

Council Meeting, May 1993

Kenneth Best Case

At their meeting on 14 May, 1993,

members of the Council of the Society

congratulated

Ernest Cantillon,

member of the Council, who was the

solicitor who acted in the Kenneth

Best case, and expressed regret that

the news media had largely ignored

the compliments paid to him by the

judge in the case. The Council agreed

that the case should be used by the

Society to obtain the maximum public

relations benefit particularly when

making the case for the introduction

of a comprehensive scheme of civil

legal aid.

| Angel Dust Regulations

Ultra-Vires

The Council considered a recent High

Court decision in which the Angel

| Dust regulations had been declared

| ultra-vires

and void and the

implications of the judgment for EC

! secondary legislation. Given that the

implications of this decision for

lawyers were significant, it was

I suggested that the President should

I write to the Minister for Justice and/or

the Attorney General enquiring as to

the action being taken by the State and

whether the State had a fall-back

position.

Family Law

i The Chairman of the Family Law and

: Civil Legal Aid Committee reported

| to Council that the Committee had

! fully supported the contents of a code

| of conduct prepared by the Family

Lawyers Association.

| Taxation of Stand-by Fees

The Chairman of the Litigation

Committee reported on an appeal

j taken by

John Reidy,

Solicitor, who is

| a member of the Society's Litigation

! Committee, against the Taxing

Master's decision to refuse to tax

stand-by fees for doctors in personal

injuries cases. The appeal had been

financially supported by the Society

and it has been successful. He said he

believed the judgment would be of

significant benefit to the profession.

Practice Management

The Council was informed that the

possibility of establishing a Mergers

i Register was being examined by the

Practice Management Committee.

New Reception Area at Blackball

Place

The Council debated a decision by the

Premises Committee to provide a new

reception area at Blackhall Place. It

was pointed out that the proposal

would free-up the existing reception

| area so that a Members' Reading

Room could be made available within

the building. There was some

discussion about the wisdom of

committing expenditure on such a

proposal at the present time given the

other demands on Society resources

and the prevailing economic climate.

The Chairman of the Premises

Committee assured the Council that

Í the expenditure was within the

parameters of this year's budget

allocation to the Committee and that

he believed that the reception area at

Blackhall Place required urgent

upgrading. The proposal was the most

cost-effective solution, was consistent

| with the proper development of the

building and would provide improved

facilities for members. The proposal

was approved.

Remuneration/Costs

The Council discussed the results of

the recent survey of members of the

profession concerning remuneration

and costs. The Chairman of the Costs

Committee outlined a proposed plan

of action to address the difficulties

currently being experienced by

solicitors and in particular the general

lack of awareness of the essentials of

time-costing and the proper financial

management of a practice. It was

intended to publish articles in the

Gazette

and to conduct regional

seminars. The Costs Committee was

also seeking the agreement of the

Education Committee to the allocation

| of one hour on each Advanced Course

| to a member of the Remuneration/

: Costs Committee who would

address students on the topic of

running a business and methods

of charging.

Part VII - Finance Act, 1992

I The Chairman of the Taxation

Committee reported that following

further negotiations a number of

additional concessions had been

obtained from the Revenue

Commissioners in regard to the

application of provisions of Part VII

of the Finance Act, 1992. He would

be reporting in full to the half-yearly

meeting in Connemara and to the

Special General Meeting on

17 June.

With regard to Section 59 notices, the

Chairman reported that the Committee

had not succeeded in obtaining

concessions from the Revenue

Commissioners on this matter. In the

light of counsels' opinions on the

principle of solicitor/client

confidentiality, the Committee was of

the view that there was no sustainable

basis upon which these notices could

be resisted.

Some Council members took the view

that the notices should be resisted as

the issue at stake went to the very root

of the profession and compliance

could mean losing work to foreign

lawyers.

After some discussion, the Council

j decided that the matter of Section 59

(Continued on page 193)

188