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GAZETTE
NOVEMBER 1991
Communication with
clients of another
solicitor
The attention of the Litigation Com-
mittee has been drawn to a number
of instances of solicitors communi-
cating directly with clients of collea-
gues in contentious litigation
particularly in personal injury cases.
Practitioners are referred to Chapter
7 (7) of the Guide to Professional
Conduct of Solicitors in Ireland
(1988) and Rule 7 of the Inter-
national Bar Association Inter-
national Code of Ethics (1986) both
of which are published hereunder:-
A Guide to Professional Conduct of
Solicitors in Ireland
7. (7) A solicitor should neither
interview nor otherwise com-
municate with the client of
another solicitor except with
that solicitor's consent. In
exceptional circumstances, this
general rule does not apply.
Where a solicitor on the other
side of a transaction or a case
does not reply to corres-
pondence, a solicitor may be
justified in writing directly to
the client of the other solicitor.
A solicitor who intends to write
to a client of another solicitor
should first warn that solicitor
of his intention to do so.
International
Bar
Association
International Code of Ethics
7. It shall be considered improper
for lawyers to communicate
about a particular case directly
with any person whom they
know to be represented in that
case by another lawyer without
the latter's consent.
Litigation Committee
Restoration of Companies
Struck-off
Practitioners are reminded that the
Companies Act, 1990 has amend-
ed Section 12 of the Companies
(Amendment) Act, 1982, so that
companies that do not for two
consecutive years make annual
returns required by Sections 125
and 126 of the Companies Act,
1963, expose themselves to being
struck-off the Register of
Companies.
Section 246 of the 1990 Act has
inserted a new Section 311A in the
1963 Act to the effect that
application may be made for 12
months from the strike off to the
Registrar of Companies rather than
to the High Court. Whilst this is
likely to be of some assistance to
practitioners, note that the fee for
examining an application for the
restoration of a company to the
Register is IR£500 payable to the
Companies Office. This is before
any other costs or outlay are
incurred.
Company Law Committee
Irish Association of
Investment Managers
Guidelines
The Company and Commercial Law
Committee would like to bring to
the attention of the profession
publications on the following
subjects by the Irish Association of
Investment Managers:
1. Code of Best Practice concern-
ing the new insider dealing law
under the Companies Act,
1990.
2. Amended Guidelines on share
option and profit sharing
schemes.
3. Guidelines on company pur-
chase of own shares.
Copies of these codes and guide-
lines are available from the IAIM, 7
Lower Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin 2.
Company Law Committee
Local Government (Multi-
Story Buildings) Act,
1988
Under Section 2 (2) of the Act, the
Local Authority is bound to serve
notice on the owner of a multi-
storey building which has been
constructed before the commence-
ment of the Act requiring the owner
to furnish the Local Authority with
a certificate in respect of the build-
ing in one of the forms appended
to the Local Government (Multi-
Storey Buildings) (Amendment)
Regulations, 1990.
Under Section 4 (1) of the Act there
is an obligation to furnish a
certificate to the Local Authority in
respect of a multi-storey building
which has not been completed
before the commencement of the
Act and such certificate must be
furnished before the building or any
part of the building is occupied.
For some time after the passing of
the Act (because the Local
Authority had not had time to serve
notices on owners) it was felt
sufficient to merely obtain a
certificate from a 'competent
person' which could then be sent
to the Local Authority once the
Local Authority had served a notice
pursuant to the Act.
However, it has come to the
Committee's attention that a
number of such certificates have
not been accepted by the Local
Authority and have not therefore
been recorded on the Register
which the Local Authority is bound
to maintain under the Local
Government (Multi-Storey Build-
ings) Regulations, 1988.
Solicitors acting for purchasers or
tenants are therefore advised that
in all cases they should not just
receive a copy of the certificate
furnished or to be furnished to the
Local Authority but also some
evidence from the Local Authority
that it has accepted and recorded
the certificate on the Register
established under the Act.
Conveyancing Committee
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