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GAZETTE
JULY/AUGUST 1993
Solicitors and "Cut-Price"
Conveyancing
Solicitors in Ireland are concerned
about "cut-price' conveyancing but
they are not alone. Solicitors in the
UK are alarmed at the growing
incidence of "cut-price" conveyancing
by colleagues desperate to secure
work. They are calling on the UK
1
Law Society to stamp out the
; practice.
Some solicitors in England were so
concerned about the practice of "cut-
j
price" conveyancing that they released
details to the media. (
The Times,
June
26, 1993). Mr.
Tony Holland
, a former
President of the UK Law Society, said |
that the results of price competition in
j
recent years among solicitors had been
disastrous for standards of work. He
j
! noted that the quality of work had
| dropped dramatically and carelessness Í
i was rife. Some solicitors were charging
j a fee of £125 sterling for a conveyanc-
ing transfer. He stated that it was just
j
not possible to transfer property and
j
advise clients for such a sum.
J
! The Law Society Council in the UK
j
had rejected the idea of scale fees or
regulation. However, the Law Society
had asked all local law societies in
England and Wales to investigate
:
conveyancing charges in their areas
and to report back with names of firms !
whose fees appeared to be dangerously
low and a potential danger to clients.
1
A trawl of press advertisements for
"cut-price" conveyancing was also
being made. The Society would then
examine them to see if there was any
link between those firms whose
charges were unrealistic (not just low)
and claims on the indemnity fund for
| negligence.
Centre in Economics and
Law
The Centre of Economics and Law
(CIEL) at UCG publishes the
successful half-yearly
CIEL Newsletter
which has subscribers at home and
abroad. CIEL is affiliated with the
European Association of Law and
Economics, an international network
of law and economics scholars and
practitioners.
CIEL has recently introduced an
Information Sheet
to its range of
publications. The Information Sheet
provides a detailed commentary on a
competition policy issues in either
Ireland or abroad. It looks at the
international dimension to EC
competition policy and the
implications for Irish businesses.
A new book,
The Efficiency of Law
is
due for publication later this year.
General details are available from Dr.
Patrick McNutt
at CIEL, University
College Galway, telephone, 091 24411
or 091 26786 or fax: 091 24130.
Regulations for all
Employers
The Safety, Health And Welfare At
Work (General
Application)
Regulations, 1993.
(S.I. No. 44 of
1993) affect all employers and cast
onerous duties on them. These
regulations extend the requirements of
the
Safety, Health and Welfare at
Work Act, 1989
, and implement
Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12
June, 1989 on the introduction of
measures to encourage improvements
in the health and safety of workers at
the work place.
The regulations also implement five
related directives which set down
minimum requirements for health and
safety in specific areas of working
activities. Also implemented by these
regulations is
Council Directive
91/383/EEC
of 25 June, 1991 on
measures to improve safety and health
at work of workers with a fixed
duration or temporary employment
relationship.
These regulations also revise and
update existing legal requirements
concerning the safe use of electricity
in the workplace, the provision of
first-aid facilities and the procedures
governing the notification to the
National Authority for Occupational
Safety and Health of accidents and
dangerous occurrences.
The regulations impose general and
specific obligations on employers with
regard to the evaluation and reduction
of the exposure of employees to
occupational risk and hazards, the
development of risk prevention
policies, consultation, training and
information of workers and health
surveillance. Employees are also
obliged by these regulations to
cooperate with employers in matters
relating to the protection of their own
safety and health at work.
The regulations cost £6.45 and may be
obtained from the Government
Publications Sale Office, Sun Alliance
House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.
Postage is £1.20 extra.
•