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5. A solicitor shall not, directly or indirectly, apply for
or seek instructions for professional business or do
in connection with his practice any act or thing which
can reasonably be regarded as touting or advertising
or as calculated unfairly to attract business. A solicitor
shall not permit to be done on his behalf in connection
with his practice, or by a client for whom he proposes
to act, anything which if done by the solicitor himself
would be a breach of this regulation, and it shall be
the duty of a solicitor to make reasonable enquiry
before accepting instructions, either from the client
or any person dealing with the client, for the purpose
of ascertaining whether the acceptance of such instruc
tions would involve a breach of this regulation.
6. A solicitor shall not hold himself out or allow himself
to be held out directly or indirectly by name or other
wise as being prepared to do professional business
in contentious matters at less than the scale fees fixed
by rules of Court and in non-contentious matters at
less than the scale of charges, if any, fixed by general
orders made under the Solicitors' Remuneration Act,
1881, or rules made under the Registration of Title
Act, 1891, as amended, in force for the time being,
or such lower scale as may be authorised by the Council
for any particular class or classes of work.
7. A solicitor shall not agree to share with any person
not being either a solicitor qualified to practise or
a duly qualified legal agent in another country his
profit costs in respect of any business, either conten
tious or non-contentious, provided always
that—
(a)
a solicitor carrying on practice on his own account
may, with the written permission of the Council
(which may be withheld or granted either un
conditionally or subject to conditions), agree
to pay an annuity or other sum out of the profits
to a retired partner or predecessor or the depend
ants or legal personal representatives of a deceased
partner or predecessor ;
(b)
a solicitor who is employed full time in consideration
of a salary to do the legal work exclusively of
an employer who is not a solicitor may agree
with such employer to set off profit costs received
in respect of contentious business from the
opponents of such employer, or the costs paid
to him as the solicitor for such employer by
third parties
in
respect of non-contentious
business, against, (i) the salary so paid or payable
to him and (ii) the reasonable office expenses
incurred by such employer in connection with
such solicitor (and to the extent of such salary
and expenses).
8. A solicitor shall not accept an appointment by or act
as solicitor for any client or body other than the,
State on the basis that he will be remunerated by a
fixed salary irrespective of the amount of work per
formed or to be performed by him as solicitor for
such client or body unless such solicitor shall hold a
whole-time appointment under a
contract which
provides that he shall act exclusively as solicitor for
such client or body.
9. The Council shall have power to waive in writing the
application of any of the provisions of these regulations
in any particular case.
10. The Committee or Council of a Bar Association on
receiving information of facts which would, in their
opinion, if proved, constitute a breach by a solicitor
of any of these regulations, or misconduct within
the meaning of section 14 of the Solicitors Act, 1954,
shall bring such matters to the notice of the Society
for investigation.
Signed on behalf of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland
this 2ist day of July, 1955.
THOMAS A. O'REILLY,
President of the Incorporated Law Society of Ireland.
CORRESPONDENCE.
The following letter has been received from a
member relating to solicitor's costs.
" I read with interest the article on solicitor's
costs for contentious and non-contentious work.
There is a matter relating to contentious work
which needs the attention of solicitors generally.
A solicitor is not entitled to any party and party
costs for work done prior to the issue of a summons
and is not entitled to charge party and party for a
proper investigation of evidence etc., until he serves
Notice of Trial. He gets a nominal fee for instruc
tions for Summons and if no Notice of Trial is
served he may be allowed a maximum of £15 155.
for instructions for Statement of Claim although
if he had served Notice of Trial he might be entitled
to ten times that amount or more for instructions
for Briefs.
The Taxing Masters claim that a solicitor need
not do substantial work for his action until Notice
of Trial is served. This appears to be a formalistic
view not based on realities as a careful solicitor
will not deliver a Statement of Claim without
investigating the available evidence and proofs."
•
RECENT
LEGAL
LITERATURE.
Part II—February to July, 1955.
Advertisement
for Claims Distribution :
" Re
Aldhous "—
(Law Notes,
August, 1955).
Aggregation
and
small
estates
(Mason)—
(The
Conveyancer,
July-August, 1955).
Alterations to licensed Premises—
($•].,
3oth July,
-
Alumni of Hague International Law Academy—
Seventh Congress—
(Inf. & Compar. L.()-,
July,
Annual General Meeting
of Bar :
Attorney-
General's statement—
(S-J.,
i3th July, 1955).
Anomalies in the Law of Conversion (Gordon)—
(L.Q.K.,
July, 1955).
Appeals on Questions of Fact (Goodhart)—
(L.Q.K.,
July, I955)-
Agents Continuing Commission—
(The
Solicitor
May, I955)-
Assignment of Hire Purchase Contracts :—
" United Dominions Trust
v.
Parkway Motors "
(The Solicitor,
August, 1955).
33