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GAZETTE
MARCH 1983
Special General Meeting
of the Law Society
The Special General Meeting of the Law Society called
'to consider what economies and/or re-organisation (if
any) are expedient to help lighten the financial burden of
members of our Society without impairing its proper
functioning in the best interests of the profession was held
in Blackhall Place, Dublin 7, on 27th January, 1983.
The President welcomed both the purpose of the
meeting and the attendance, which he noted was larger
(83) than at the Annual General Meeting.
Mr. T. C. G. O'Mahony circulated notes regarding the
Society and said that the demand by the Society on
members had increased by £176 between 1982 and 1983.
He queried some expenditure, given that a deficit had been
forecast, and referred to various heads of expenditure
which he had taken into account in arriving at a total of
£1,150,430. If the Council had undertaken economies,
could the membership be informed of the results? He feared
that a bureaucratic monster had been created and asked if
consultants should be called in, or whether a separate
Committee of non-Council members should be
constituted to review the situation.
Mr. J. Sheehan supported Mr. O'Mahony. Mr. T.
Jackson and some other speakers considered that the way
to deal with queries put by Mr. O'Mahony was to raise
them at the Annual General Meeting.
Mr. A. Curneen said that members were concerned
with the Compensation Fund and hoped that they could be
given some guarantee that demands would not be
unlimited. There was a fear amongst the more established
practitioners of younger members setting up in practice on
their own. The general view, he added, was that the Law
Society was doing a good job, but he suggested that the
profession's interests would not be well looked after until
the Society formed a Trade Union.
He also inquired why the Society did not leave the
training of solicitors to the Universities, but accepted that
the Society might have to exert control over the entry to
the profession.
Mr. Q. Crivon endorsed Mr. Cumeen's remarks and
said that he was worried about future years, rather than the
current year. As he saw it, the Society was being
maintained by a paying profession of about 2,500 people,
with about 500 unemployed or otherwise not in a position
to pay the Society. He would like to see a breakdown of the
costs of running Blackhall Place and the salaries and
expenses in relation to the services provided by
individuals. It might then be possible to say where
economies could be made.
Mr. M. Browne felt that there was an absence of
reporting back to Bar Associations. In his own Bar
Association, (Mayo), they had the attendance of the
Director General twice a year, and the President visited
them to fill them in fully as to what was.going on. The
situation was a complex one, and money wduld have to be
provided to give a service.
Mr. Crivon said it appeared that the Bar Association
liaison with the Society was better in the country than in
Dublin.
Mr. P. Murphy said that the young solicitors who had
qualified in the last five years now represented more than
one-third of the profession and they had a feeling of
alienation because the Law Society had done nothing for
them. Pay scales were very poor, the employment
situation was bad and getting worse. The general feeling
among his colleagues was that the profession and, in
particular, the Law Society, was doing little for the
younger members. Mr. M. Farrell said that what worried
him was not the running of Blackhall Place, but the
Indemnity Fund and he asked if the time had come when
individuals would have to take out insurance cover to
protect themselves. What was happening at the moment
was that people with 'good track records' were bailing out
those who did not conduct themselves.
The President said that the members of the Council
were extremely concerned over the increasing level of
expenditure and, before there was any mention of a
Special General Meeting, the Policy Committee had
considered all aspects of the Society's activities and the
areas where it might be possible to prune expenditure. The
Society was faced with the dilemma of trying to curtail
expenditure and, at the same time, increase services. In its
examination, the Society had come up with a number of
possible approaches, which included the non-replacement
of staff, an examination of cheaper methods of preparing
Law School and company Formation documentation and
curtailing travel expenses. The approaches also include
increasing the level of investigations, with a view to
ascertaining and pursuing solicitors who have not taken
out Practising Certificates, to ensure that they do so and,
where appropriate, to collect arrears. Contact is also to be
made with those who had not already contributed towards
Blackhall Place, with a view to increasing the funds from
members and thereby reduce bank interest.
Speaking of Blackhall Place, the President pointed out
that it might be necessary to spend additional money on
improving security.
The Council, he continued, was prepared to circulate
information to members, but no matter what precautions it
took there were leaks. Consequently, the Council was
against the circularisation of documentation and favoured
conveying information by word of mouth.
Dealing with comments about the Law School, the
President said that up to now the arrangement was
experimental. Now that a fixed situation had been
established, the Education Committee intended to review
the entire scheme.
It would also take a fresh look at an approach to the
Higher Education Authority for funding. So far as
numbers were concerned, the Society was indicted for
limiting the number entering the profession. It found itself
on a 'no win' situation. The Society was now in discussion
with representatives of the students and those who
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