GAZETTE
W
JAN/FEB 1993
N E
S
Council Nominates O'Donovan
to Seanad Panel
At its meeting on 4 December 1992,
the Council of the Law Society
decided to nominate Senator
Denis
O'Donovan
to the Cultural and
Educational Panel for re-election to
Seanad Eireann. In all, four persons
had applied for the Law Society
nomination. Senator O'Donovan was
chosen by the Council in line with
the policy of supporting a candidate
who was a solicitor, because he had
been very active in the West Cork
Bar Association before entering
politics, and because he was
committed to the interests of the
profession and had supported the
Society's stance on the Solicitors
(Amendment) Bill, 1991.
At the December meeting, the
Chairman of the Finance Committee
proposed that there would be no
increase in the practising certificate
fee for 1993 other than an increase
for inflation. The total fee of £995
including the contribution to the
Compensation Fund and the life
assurance premium - an increase of
£9 on last year's fee - was approved
by the Council.
The Chairman of the EC and
International Affairs Committee
reported to the Council that the
Committee had considered in detail
the contents of the EC Commission
Consultation Paper on Joint Cross
Border Practice of Regulated
Professions. A submission had been
made to the Department of Industry
and Commerce querying the need for
the proposed regulations given the
existing regulations governing cross
border practices. The EC and
International Affairs Committee will
consider in detail the provisions of
any new EC regulations, when
published.
The Chairman of Professional
Purposes Committee reported to the
Council that, at the request of the
President of the Society, the
Committee would be undertaking a
review of the Guide to Professional
Conduct published by the Society.
The Committee intended to
commence its review by examining
chapter 7 dealing with a solicitor's
relationship with other solicitors.
The Council was informed that the
provisions of Part VII of the
Finance Act, 1992 had been referred
to a number of senior counsel for
their opinion and their replies were
awaited. The Chairman of the
Taxation Committee said that he
hoped to present a report to the
January meeting of the Council.
The Council noted the contents of the
Accountant's Certificates Report
which showed that accountant's
certificates had been submitted by
89.69% of practitioners. It was
expected that this figure would rise to
over 96% by mid-December, 1992.
•
Viewpoint
(Cont'd from page 5)
uphold proper standards in relation to
advertising by solicitors while
recognising that, because some of the
issues involved are highly subjective,
differing views are bound to prevail in
relation to what ought or ought not
to be allowed, in particular instances.
In the final analysis, the courts are
there to determine the validity of
claims for personal injuries. There has
been a tendency in the past, at least
in some quarters, to make the legal
profession the scapegoat for the
spiralling cost of personal injury
claims. That is unfair. Much more can
and should be done to reduce the
potential for accidents and to ensure
better safety standards in the
workplace, on the roads and in public
places generally. Negligence is,
unfortunately, a regular feature of
I human behaviour and the Society will
continue to defend the right of people
to instruct solicitors to pursue claims
for compensation when this is right
and proper.
•
President's Message
(Cont'd from page 7)
complaint being dealt with
satisfactorily. The Society has in
recent years improved the speed and
efficiency of the system of
complaints-handling and has adopted
a very strict approach with those
solicitors coming before the
Committee for interview. It is intended
that the Committee's powers will be
significantly strengthened under the
provisions of the proposed Solicitors
Bill.
The Society fully supports the right of
clients to make complaints against
solicitors where they are dissatisfied
with the quality of service received.
Moreover, the profession should be
aware that the Society must investigate
such complaints with total
impartiality and must ensure fairness
and justice to both client and solicitor
alike. In addition, the system must be
seen to operate with maximum
efficiency so that the resolution of any
complaint is achieved as quickly as
possible. In order to meet these
objectives the Committee depends on
a satisfactory and quick reply from
the individual solicitor. Every solicitor
contacted by the Committee must
appreciate the importance of the
situation insofar as the profession is
concerned and each solicitor is
earnestly requested to co-operate fully
so as to protect the good name of all.
Efficient, fair and speedy complaints
handling is vital to the well-being of
both solicitor and client alike, and is
fundamental to the good name and
the integrity of the profession and the
impartiality of the Society.
Raymond Monahan
8