200 / 328
towing and garaging of a motor car involved in an
accident and members wrote to a garage proprietor
requesting an account, which came to approximately
, £25.
It was stated that the garage proprietor
received instructions from members' firm to carry
out the work. The account was apparently sub
mitted to the solicitor for the insurance company
acting for the defendant and the claim was settled.
The garage proprietor did not receive payment nor
did he hear whether or not the claim had been
settled. Members' clients have left the country and
members have no funds in hands. An opinion from
the Council was required as to whether or not
members were personally liable and whether or not
they could properly now furnish their client's present
address to the solicitor for the garage proprietor
in order to enable him to proceed for the recovery
of the amount due to his client.
The Council on a report from a committee were
of opinion that
(a)
if members acted on behalf of
a principal who was disclosed to the creditor they
were not personally liable;
(F)
if they did not
disclose their principal it appeared that they were
personally liable;
(f)
there could be no objection
to
the disclosure by members of their client's
present address if in fact they had disclosed his
name and address when giving their instructions
initially. The fact that the client's original address
was given would in the absence of evidence to the
contrary be an authorisation to disclose his new
address.
SECTION 58, LOCAL GOVERNMENT
ACT, 1941
The attention of members is directed to the above
section, the text of which reads as follows :—
" Where a sum is due to any person by a
local authority and, at the same time, a sum is due
to such local authority by such person in respect
of rates or would be so due but for the fact that
such sum has been advanced and paid to such
local authority by a rate collector, the former sum
may be set off against the latter either, as may be
appropriate, in whole or in part."
The right given to a local authority under this
section will apparently defeat any lien or charge
given by a client to a solicitor for costs against
a grant or payment of any description due to the
client from the local authority.
UNDERTAKING BY SOLICITOR
WITHDRAWAL OF RETAINER
The Council have been considering the difficulty
in which a solicitor can find himself where he has
given an undertaking on behalf of a client and the
client subsequently withdraws his
retainer and
instructs some other solicitor. Depending upon the
terms of the undertaking given a solicitor could in
certain circumstances find himself in the position of
grave embarrassment.
For example, if a client
instructed a solicitor to give an undertaking to a
bank to pay over in discharge of an overdraft
moneys coming into his hands belonging to the
client and if the client subsequently terminated the
retainer and called upon the solicitor to account to
him for all further moneys coming into his hands or
already held and not paid over in accordance with
the undertaking the solicitor might find himself
liable to proceedings by the former client for the
recovery of his money on the one hand and pro
ceedings by the bank on foot of his undertaking
on the other hand.
The Council have approved of the following form
of authority and retainer which a solicitor could use
on being instructed and prior to giving any under
taking on behalf of the client. The solicitor should
write to the client as follows :—
Dear Mr. A. (client),
In order to complete this matter I shall have to
give an undertaking to
which
will bind me professionally to (set out terms of the
undertaking).
I must have your irrevocable authority and retainer
in order to give this undertaking and if you will
write that you agree I shall proceed with the matter
immediately.
Yours faithfully,
(solicitor).
An unconditional affirmative reply in writing from
the client will constitute the necessary authority.
The solicitor would then be in a position, if the
client purported to terminate his retainer, to act
according to the undertaking given by him.
The letter in reply from the client should be
stamped with the appropriate Revenue duty.
MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS AND
REPORTS
The Council has had under consideration for
some time the general question of medical examina
tions and reports. The particular aspects of the
matters which have engaged the attention of the
Council are (i) the question of medical reports
by doctors on their patients who have been involved
in road accidents being made available to insurance
companies and (2) the scope of medical examinations
and reports on workmen in workmen's compensa
tion cases.
The Society took these questions up
with the Irish Medical Association and an approved
statement to be issued in the Journal of
the
Association was drafted. The following is the text
of the statement and it is understood that it is to