298 / 822
GAZETTE
APRIL 1 9 88
(c) Overheads increased
The financial overheads involved in
running a solicitors office would be
increased. They stated that in these
recessionary times solicitors had
suffered a downturn in business
with resulting reduction in income
but not a corresponding reduction
in overheads. They stated that the
introduction of advertising would
require all solicitors to set aside
vast budgets for advertising. This
the profession could not afford.
There is absolutely no doubt that
the implications and effects of ad-
vertising would be completely
different in the city and the country.
There is a division, but it need not
be divisive. A glossy brochure
setting out the services offered by
a practice would have a completely
different impact in Drimnagh,
Dublin than in Bunbeg, Co. Donegal.
The members who supported the
introduction of advertising stated
that it was in the interest of the
public that it should be aware of the
d i f f e r ent se r v i ces t hat were
available to them in their localities.
In June 1987 the
Consumer Choice
magazine (Irish equivalent of
Which?)
published an article on
legal advertising. They carried out
a survey in March 1987 based on
telephone enquiries to a total of 61
solicitors' practices chosen at
random in Wexford, Cork, Galway
and Dublin. They concluded that
advertising would benefit consumers,
to quote:
"Advertising would be good for
consumers. It would tell you
what services are available and
the respective charges . . . And
it should encourage more
competition and efficiency. In
1982 the Restrictive Practices
Commi ss i on r ecommended
that the ban on advertising by
solicitors should be lifted. The
recommendation should be im-
plemented by the government
without any further delay."
The one fact that did emerge from
the debate in November 1986 was
that the introduction of advertising
was inevitable. Furthermore a large
percentage of solicitors who voted
against change did so, not because
they disagreed wi th the new rules
out but because the regulations did
not contain any practical means of
policing and enforcement. They
were particularly aggrieved that
there was no clear penalty for
those solicitors who would act in
breach of the new rules. This
reservation still exists.
The Law Society has no plans to
reintroduce the draft regulations. It
is anxious that the regulations will
be implemented but feels that it is
bound by the decision of the
meeting in November 1986. If, as
the writer believes, the introduction
of advertising is inevitable then it is
time that we reopened the debate
and started to push for limited
deregulation. The following reasons
are -cited in support:
A. The Restrictive Practices Com-
mission recommended in 1982
that the restriction on adver-
tising should be removed.
B. In 1987 the Restrictive Prac-
tices Commission recommend-
ed on accountants that their
present limited advertising
should be extended to include
'price advertising' and 'open
touting' for business.
C. It is understood that the Re-
strictive Practices Commission
is about to report on solicitors
and that it will recommend similar
rules for the legal profession.
D. The government has for some
time been drafting legislation to
amend the Solicitors Act. It is
understood that the draft bill
will incorporate the recommen-
dations of the Restrictive Prac-
tices Commission.
E. The public are becoming more
aware of the advantages of
advertising for solicitors as evid-
enced by the Consumer Associ-
ation report. Added to this is the
increasing awareness of the public
of the advantages in removing
the conveyancing monopoly.
F. A group of solicitors favouring
advertising submitted a case to
counsel, an eminent Constitu-
tional Lawyer who advised
them in a lengthy opinion that
the present restriction on ad-
vertising constituted, in his
opinion, a breach of their cons-
titutional rights to freedom of
expression.
The so l i c i t o rs
who
t ook
Counsel's opinion did so because
they considered that the future
development of their practices
would be adversly affected by the
decision in November 1986 and
because they preferred to control
the future development of their pro-
f ess i on rather t han have it
controlled by some outside body
such as the Oireachtas. The
government, because of its lack of
a majority in the Dail, will not wish
to introduce contentious legislation
during its term of office, may well
favour the introduction of a new
Solicitors Act which would include
price advertising and " t ou t i ng" for
business.
If the aforementioned solicitors
were to refer the matter to Court,
the action would be extremely
divisive for the profession; however
the public and the media would
love the controversy, and no doubt
the issue would make the headlines
for the wrong reasons.
Furthermore if the Court was to
uphold the right to advertise then
membe rs wou ld be a l l owed
advertise without restriction and
thus price advertising and touting
would be outside our control. If you
do not agree wi th this conclusion
then read the decision in
Bates -v-
State Bar of Arizona
where the
Supreme Court in upholding Mr.
Bates constitutional right to ad-
vertise, removed the other restric-
tions on advertising in Arizona and
the rest of the United States of
America.
The legal profession cannot hold
back the tide of change. In every
action a solicitor takes, whether it
be his performance in the local
court (of far greater significance in
c oun t ry p r ac t i ce t han
c i ty
practice), being a member of the
local Lions Club, Vincent de Paul,
golf club, football club or local pub,
he is marketing himself as a
solicitor and ultimately advertising
his practice. The only method of
obtaining, holding and developing
business is by marketing one's
services. If you support or oppose
these views please respond in the
next issue of the Gazette so that
your views will be considered and
the debate will commence.
JOHN M. BOURKE
V I EWPO I NT icontd. from page 59.)
The publication of a book on Quantum of
Damages while welcome, will merely
mean a wider dissemination of
information already available to insurers,
Counsel and solicitors engaged in
personal injury cases, and which is the
key to the huge percentage of claims
which are currently settled without a
court hearing. It is not at all clear how
helpful such a book will be in the small
minority of cases which have to be tried
because their facts do not permit of
simple assessments of damages.
Pre-trial procedures are to be
introduced — another seemingly good
idea but not without its drawbacks. In
other countries they have led to great
delays in the processing of claims. It is to
be hoped that all these proposals will be
examined carefully with a view to
ensuring that any changes are made with
the aim of achieving speedy, effective and
fair compensation for the unfortunate
victims.
•
62