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GAZETTE
JUNE 199 1
News from the Irish Solicitors
Bar Association (London)
To my great delight I am able to
report that the long-awaited re–
qualification of Irish solicitors in
England and Wales has now at last
happened.
As anyone who has been follow–
ing the subject will know, certain
statutory provisions in the Irish
Solicitors Acts meant that
reciprocity between the respective
Law Societies was not possible. As
a result, an Irish solkitor wishing to
re -qualify in England and Wales
was in no better position than
someone who had just graduated
from an English university. To re–
qualify here an Irish solicitor would
have had to pass the Law Society's
common professional examination
(with some exemptions for Irish law
graduates), attend the one year
Law Society finals course, pass the
Law Society finals examination and
then undergo a two year period of
II
• •
•
the long-awaited requali–
fication of Irish solicitors in
England and Wales has now .. .
happened."
articles. Obviously, this was not a
practical course of action for any
Irish solicitor to take and indeed it
was to lobby to change this situa–
tion that the Irish Solicitors in
London Bar Association was form–
ed in May 1988.
The EC Directive on the Mutual
Recognition of Higher Education
Diplomas, which was due to come
into force on 4 January of this year,
prov ided us with the necessary
hope. We were delighted when the
Law Society of England and Wales
(referred to in this article as "The
Law Society") announced last year
that, because the training of Irish
solicitors is so similar to that of
solicitors in England and Wales,
Irish solicitors seeking to re-qualify
here under the terms of the
Di recti ve w ould not have to sit any
examinations. Lawyers from other
EC Member States will have to sit
an aptitude test but the Law
Society decided that the aptitude
test for Irish solicitors would be a
nil one, which is fitting, as Ireland
is the only other EC Member State
with a common law system.
By
Cliona M O'Tuama
(President)
Following negotiations which I
had with the Law Society, as a
special concession to our Associa–
tion they very kindly agreed to
process any applications from Irish
solicitors received before 13
October 1990 in advance of the
implementation of the Directive on
4 January 1991. This enabled the
Irish solicitors in question to be
admitted on the first admission
date after 4 January, which was 15
January, and to obtain practising
certificates immediately thereafter.
(Unlike the Irish Law Society, the
Law Society has formal admission
dates twice a month). 68 Irish
solicitors were enrolled as solicitors
in England and Wales on 15
January of this year amid much
celebrating.
Normally, solicitors admitted in
this jurisdiction have to wait six to
eight months before attending a
presentation of certificates cere-
Cliona M . O ' Tuama, Solicitor,
receiving her parchment at the recent
admission ceremony in london, from
The President of The law Society of
England
&
Wales Tony Holland.
Front Row: (left to right) Victor Timon, Cliona O 'Tuama, Anne Counihan, John
Randall (Director, Professional Standards and Development Directorate, The
law Society of England and Wales).
Back Row: (left to right) Philip lee, Professor Richard Woulfe, Director of
Education, The law Society, Du,blin, Tony Holland, President of The law Society
of England and Wales, Roderick Bourke.
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