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fusion of
the
two branches of
the profession. After
prolonged discussion we have taken the view that full
fusion is inadvisable at present and would not be to the
advantage of the litigant. This is not to say that we do
not recognise the need for reform. Our branch of the
profession has a good record on the question of reform
—for instance, if legal education had been in our hands
reforms for which the Society, the Universities and the
students have been calling would have been brought
about years ago. We have gone as far as we can but
we need the co-operation of both the Department and
the Bar to bring about the changes which must come.
Many of you will have read the article on law reform
in the Daily Telegraph Magazine. May I quote the last
sentence of the article—"Unless
the legal professions
summon up the courage to reform themselves they may
find an impatient public has taken the task out of their
hands."
The Author, a Mr. Whitaker was
talking about
Britain but a similar warning could be given here. The
Minister has indicated his views about a number of
things. I hope we shall be able to co-operate with him
and use our restraining influence where necessary.
The Council has decided that in co-operation with
the Law Faculties
in
the Universities and with
the
Benchers of the Kings Inn if they agree, we should
urge the Minister to bring in as quickly as possible the
legislation already submitted to him which will enable
us to put into effect the reforms in legal education—
an essential prelude to other reforms.
Meanwhile I have arranged with the Chairman of
the General Council of the Bar of Ireland that we shall
have informal talks about our common problems.
It is occasionally suggested that we operate a closed
shop. This
is simply not
true particularly now
that
everyone has
the opportunity
to obtain a secondarv
education. We have certainly had to raise the standard
of our preliminary examination. One reason for this is
that
the
number
of
prospective
entrants
to
the
profession has been
steadily
increasing and without
some restriction we would be faced with serious over
crowding. It should always be remembered
that the
Solicitors profession
is one that does not train young
men and women for export and even in an expanding
economy it may be difficult to absorb about 100 hew
Solicitors every year when the average number deaths
and retirements does not exceed about 35 per annum.
I do believe however that there will arise more and more
opportunities for qualified Solicitors in commerce and
industry and of course the whole question of training for
the
profession
awaits
the
implementation
by
the
Government of the amendment to
the Solicitors Act
which as my predecessor mentioned had been submitted
to the Department of Justice last year and has been
under consideration by the Higher Education Authority
and
the Deparment of Education.
The complaints which are most frequently voiced
about the law are about delay and expense. But this
profession with the encouragement of
the Council
is
doing a great deal to cut out delays and to improve
efficiency.
In many of
the cities
there have been
amalgamations leading to specialisation and improved
service. The Society is playing its part in all this reform
by providing more and more services for its members
but all this effort, all this expense, all this re-structuring,
and co-operation is of no avail if there continues to
be delays in the Estate Duty Office, delays in the Land
Registry, appalling delays in hearing of cases in Court.
Our complaints about all
these delays are nearly
always sympathetically received but
they are always
blamed on shortage of staff and this in turn is caused
by lack of Finance—so we are back again to cost—to
money and to the fact that if the public want efficient
legal service they must pay for it.
But our complaint with regard to the Land Registry
is
that the Public pay very heavily and do not get
the service to which they are entitled. It is quite usual
for a simple Dealing to take a year to reach completion
and it is understandable that clients find it difficult to
believe that their Solicitors are not at fault when such
a long time elapses between for instance the payment
of purchase money and the production of a new Folio
showing the purchaser as registered owner when there
has been a sub-division.
Very often the sub divided plot is being acquired
by young married people for the building of a home.
Most local authorities insist on prior registration of the
applicant's title before the authority Solicitor certifies
for a Housing Act loan. It is often difficult and always
expensive
to arrange a bridging loan and the client
suffering hardship and
inconvenience usually blames
his Solicitor for the delay.
The delays in the Estate Duty Office are particularly
serious and we have pressed, so far without success, for
provisional assessment as
in England so as
to enable
Probate to be obtained without delay leaving questions
about such matters as the value of shares in a private
company to be dealt with later. Delays in dealing with
accounts in the Estate Duty office are also apparently
due to understanding. I must say also that practitioners
themselves often contribute to the delay by not sub
mitting proper Schedules, Statements and references and
by not dealing with queries promptly.
DELAYS IN THE CIRCUIT COURT
There
seems
to
be
a
gathering momentum
of
complaint about the slow process of litigation and here
again the Solicitor is vunerable because he is the person
in direct contact with the litigant and is often suspecfed
of passing the buck when he suggests that those responsible
for the delav are the Bar, the Department or the Bench.
It is instructive therefore to read the reply given by the
Minister for Justice to a query from our colleague Mr.
Fitzpatrick
in
the Dail about delays
in
the Dublin
Circuit Court. This reply disclosed an alarming backlog
of arrears and
a crying need
for additional court
accommodation a position which presumably will get
worse when
the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court
is
increased.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
The Council have for some years been concerned
about improving their Public Relations. I have always
taken the view that the individual Solicitor is his own
best Public Relations Officer but of course the individual
cannot advertise and often
the onlv reference to the
profession
in
the various news media are confined to
our work in the Courts. It is clear that we must improve
our communications and
for
this purpose we have
appointed on
a part-time basis
a Public Relations
Officer who will
advise
and
co-operate with
the
secretarial staff and members of Council and of the
profession generally in the whole area of communication.
The Minister
for
Industry
and Commerce
has
announced and it has been confirmed bv the members
of the Government that the Fair Trade Commission will
soon
start
to
investigate
the professions
and
their
restrictive practices.