The Gazette 1961

assistants who by their very nature tend to be

transitory.

Anybody

entering

this profession must be

prepared for hard work. A solicitor's life is a hard

one but it is a satisfying career for those who dedicate

themselves to it. A solicitor who works hard can

make a reasonable living but he will have earned it

much more strenuously than his fellow citizens in

many other walks of life.

You will, inevitably, be faced with an apparent

conflict of duties and come across many problems

of ethics or etiquette in your early years where you

may find yourselves in grave doubt as to what you

should do or what advice you should give.

I do

want you to realise that the Law Society and the

Council and the senior members of the profession

are always more than anxious to help you in any

way they can. After all, we were all inexperienced

and young once and we all had the same problems

to face so do not hesitate if you are bothered, to get

in touch with Mr. Plunkett or with me or with any

of the more experienced solicitors who you may

know personally and I have little doubt that you

will always find a ready and willing helping hand.

I would ask you, one and all, to become members

of the Law Society.

It is the governing body of

your profession and you can all, by joining it, help

in its work by giving us your contribution which

will always be valuable, however small it may be,

at the outset. The subscription is very small even

for a newly admitted solicitor.

I have very much pleasure on behalf of the Council

and the Society and on my own behalf in welcoming

you into the solicitors' profession and I would wish

you each and all a long, happy and successful career

in the law.

COUNTY OF TIPPERARY AND OFFALY

(BIRR DIVISION) SESSIONAL BAR

ASSOCIATION

At the Annual General meeting of this Association

held on the loth May, 1962, the President elected

for the current year is Mr. Robert A. Frewen of

Tipperary,

the Honorary Secretary, Mr.

John

Carrigan of Thurles and the Honorary Treasurer,

Mr. Martin T. Butler of Thurles. The committee is

Messrs. Henry Hayes, Nenagh; P. F. Treacy,

Nenagh, Michael O'Meara, Nenagh; Michael

Black, Nenagh; J. J. Nash, Templemore ;

J. C.

Devitt, Roscrea;

J. C. Reedy, Birr;

Francis

Murphy, Clonmel;

James A. Binchy, Clonmel;

Donal Binchy, Clonmel; Thomas Reilly, Clonmel;

W. F. O'Connell, Tipperary; N. J. O'Donnell,

Tipperary and Donal T. Ryan, Cashel.

DECISIONS OF PROFESSIONAL

INTEREST

Solicitor—deficiency

in clients' account—action against

accountants. Lustombe

Roberts and Pascho. (Megaw J.

i8tA April,

1962)

A solicitor practising on his own account kept all

the books of account in his own hand. From 1952

onwards, and to an increasing extent in later years,

he transferred sums of money, paid to his clients'

account on behalf of his clients, into his office

account, which was used for payment of moneys to

or on account of clients, professional expenses, and

private and personal expenses. By 1958 the deficiency

was over £10,000. His income for tax purposes had

been overstated from 1953 to 1957, and he paid tax

on the overstated amount to the extent of £1,885.

After discovery of the deficiency, towards the end of

July, 1958, he reported the matter to the Law Society

and on 8th January, 1959 the Disciplinary Committee,

holding that he had failed to comply with the

Solicitors' Accounts Rules arid had been guilty of

conduct unbefitting a solicitor, ordered him to be

struck off the Roll. An appeal to the Divisional Court

was dismissed. From 1946 onwards the solicitor had

employed a firm of accountants for the purpose of

making the required annual certificate under the

Accountant's Certificate Rules and the annual return

of income to the Inland Revenue, one partner in the

firm being responsible for dealing with his affairs.

The solicitor claimed damages against the account

ants on the ground that the sole or effective cause of

his misfortune was the breach by the accountants of

their duty to him.

Megaw, J., said that the accountants' contractual

obligations were in substance limited to acting with

due and proper care as regards the submission of the

annual accountant's certificate and the preparation

and submission of the Inland Revenue statements.

It was highly probable that, if they had carried out

their duties in accordance with the required standard

of care, including their duty (which was a duty to the

public as well as to the solicitor) under the Account

ant's Certificate Rules, the irregularities would have

come to light much earlier and would have been

prevented for the future. If the solicitor had been

completely free from blame, he would be entitled to

recover damages, in some measure, in respect of the

breach of duty which would have been in part if not

in whole the cause of his loss. If he was acting

dishonestly in dealing with his clients' money he

would not be entitled to recover from the account

ants any loss of any sort arising out of or connected

with his own dishonesty, and that would be so no

matter how great or glaring the accountants' breach

of duty to him or to the public might be. Applying

the standard of proof laid down in Hornal