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ficates and in one case recommended the institution
of proceedings in the District Court under Section
5 5 of the Act. The defendant admitted the offence
and by consent no order was made except an order
for payment of the Society's costs. The Com
mittee recommend that the Council Bye-Laws
should be amended to provide that the functions
of the Society of instituting proceedings against
unqualified persons who are solicitors for practising
without certificates should be delegated to the
Committee as these cases involve questions of
solicitors' conduct and in accordance with the
policy of the Council and having regard to Section
73 (5) of the Act ought to be referred to a Com
mittee on which members of the Disciplinary Com
mittee will not serve.
6. The following matters in connection with
branch offices arose during the year.
(a)
A solicitor asked for permission to establish
a branch office about 15 miles distant from
his main office. He proposed to keep the
branch office open daily and to attend per
sonally at 5 p.m. For the rest of the time a
typist would be in charge and in communica
tion with the main office by telephone. The
Committee drew the solicitors' attention
to the following statement published in the
Society's
Gazette
in June 1951 :—
" The general principle is that it is not
in accordance with proper professional
practice that a solicitor's office should be
managed by an unqualified assistant without
adequate professional supervision of clients'
business. While the adequacy of the super
vision must depend upon the facts of
particular cases the Council are generally
of the opinion that a branch office which
is opened daily should be manfged by a
qualified assistant. If there is no permanent
qualified assistant in charge of the office
it should be opened only on days when the
principal attends in person."
The Committee reported that on the facts
stated there should be no objection by the
Society to the issue of the solicitor's practising
certificate in the absence of evidence that there
is no adequate personal supervision over each
office, but the Committee reserved the right
to review this ruling at any time.
(b)
A solicitor asked for the Society's view as
to the opening of a sub-office in a country
town. On enquiry the Committee learned
that the premises in which the proposed sub-
office would be carried on were those of
an
auctioneer. The Committee decided to inform
the solicitor that in the circumstances of the
case they would disapprove of the establish
ment of a sub-office in the same building as
the auctioneer's office.
7. It falls within the scope of the Committee's
duties to keep under review and to report to the
Council on the numbers of apprentices entering
into indentures and the number of new solicitors
annually admitted. The Committee think that this
matter should be kept under review by the Council
having regard to the overcrowding of the pro
fession to which, in the Committee's opinion, may
be attributed in great measure the number of
complaints which come before the Society and the
Disciplinary Committee. The statutory obligation
of the Society to maintain a Compensation Fund
which will be sufficient to provide full indemnity
after 1960 gives this matter added importance.
The full effect on the number of practising solicitors
of an excessive intake of apprentices on any period
does not become apparent for at least five years
and probably longer as solicitors may not commence
to take out practising certificates for some years
after admission. It is pointed out that an average
annual increase of ten newly admitted solicitors
continuing for ten years means an increase of one
hundred in the number of solicitors on the roll for
a whole practising generation—about forty years.
Chart i attached shows the numbers of admissions
annually from 1926 to 1956 and the numbers which
would have been sufficient for recruitment. Chart 2
shows the number of new apprentices for each
year. Chart 3 shows the numbers of practising
certificates issued annually during the same period.
The number of practitioners in the Irish Free State
in 1926 slightly exceeded 1,000. The number of
practising solicitors in the Republic is now about
1,350 of whom about 560 are in Dublin. The
number of admissions for the year to z8th October,
1956 was 55. It is estimated that from 30 to 35
cease to practise annually. Any admissions per
manently exceeding that number mean a net addition
to the number of practitioners. The dotted line
AB on Chart i shows the desirable number of
admissions for comparison with the actual number
during the period covered.
It is apparent that the great increase in the number
of practising solicitors in 1956 over 1926 is directly
related to the number of apprentices taken on
between 1926 and 1937. The effect of this over-