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Vol. 42

No. 5

November,

1948

THE GAZETTE

of the

INCORPORATED LAW SOCIETY OF IRELAND

President:

6 HUADHA1GH

Pice-Presidents t

JAMES R. QUIRKE,

JOHN J. SMYTH.

Secretary:

ERIC A. PLUNKETT

FOR CIRCULATION AMONG MEMBERS

MEETING OF THE COUNCIL

OCTOBER 7.

The President in the chair: Also

present: Mr. James R. Quirke, Vice-President;

Messrs. Anthony J. Malone, Francis J. Gearty,

William

J. Norman, Niall S. Gaffney, Daniel

O'Connell, William S. Hayes, Henry P. Mayne,

G. Acheson Overend, Patrick R. Boyd, William L.

Duggan, Reginald J. Nolan, Roger Greene, Dermot

P. Shaw, J. Travers Woulfe, Henry St. J. Blake,

Arthur Cox, John P. Corrigan, Joseph P. Tyrrell,

Thomas A. O'Reilly.

The following was among the business trans

acted :—

Counsel's Fees

THE Council considered a report from a committee

on a difference of opinion as

to counsel's fees.

The facts were as follows :—

In November, 1947, Mr. A., solicitor, who acted

for a local authority, was instructed to act in con­

nection with the purchase of a property for £10,600,

on behalf of the local authority and to employ

Mr. B., barrister-at-law, to read the title. Counsel's

fee was not discussed. The title was very compli

cated, and it was necessary to have the conveyance

completed before December ist in order to escape

the new

stamp duties. Counsel accepted

the

instructions without naming his fee. When the

purchase had been completed he returned

the

instructions marked with a fee of 50 guineas. The

County Manager refused to sanction payment of

the sum and instructed Mr. A. to pay a fee of twenty

guineas. Mr. B. refused to accept this. On tax

ation of Mr. A's costs the fee of 50 guineas was

opposed by the solicitor nominated by the County

Manager to appear on the taxation of the costs. As

a compromise, a fee of 30 guineas was suggested.

The County Manager wrote a cheque for this amount

which was tendered to counsel, but he refused to

accept it. Eventually counsel's fee was withdrawn

from the Bill which was taxed without it. Mr. A.

requested the guidance of the Council on the follow

ing points:—