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GAZETTE

JULY/AUGUST 1988

a. A booklet on the Adminis-

tration of Estates;

b. A Guide to Professional Re-

muneration;

c. A Code of Conduct for the

profession.

In recent years the Committee

has prosecuted unqualified persons

who pose as solicitors or attempt

to act as solicitors. The Committee

has also been instrumental in

preventing builders from making

exclusive arrangements requiring

clients of the builder to use the

builder's solicitors in return for

" f r ee legal services", and has also

dealt w i th a problem where certain

Bu i l d i ng

So c i e ty

Ma n a g e rs

appeared to be diverting business

to solicitors of their choice. It has

been effective in curtailing the

activies of the so called " acc i dent

claims consultants" by maintaining

regular con t act w i t h Hospital

Admi n i s t r a t o rs to prevent the

advertising of these organisations

on hospital bulletin boards, and

supporting legal action in cases

where these organisations have

been demonstrably negligent.

The Committee has recently

c o n c l u d ed n e g o t i a t i o ns

w i t h

A c c e ss and Visa to enab le

members to avail of credit card

facilities for payment of their costs.

Correspondence from Members

The Committee is always happy to

r ece i ve c o r r e s p o n d e n ce f r om

members of the profession about

any subject wh i ch concerns t hem

in their daily professional life

whether that be one of the many

items referred to above or some

unu s ual

s i t u a t i on

w h i ch

a

practitioner has not encountered

Paddy Glynn, Chairman, Prof-

essional Purposes Committee.

before and on wh i ch he or she

requires particular advice.

The Members of the Committee

under the Chairmanship of Paddy

Glynn from Leahy & O'Sullivan in

Limerick come from various parts

of the country and from large and

small practices and, therefore, are

in very close contact on a day to

day basis w i th the problems which

assail the profession.

The Committee will attempt for

the future to continue to be that

essential "safety valve" referred to

above and members of the pro-

fession are earnestly requested to

avail of its services at the time that

problems actually arise rather than

having them resort to a fire brigade

action when it is too late. They

urge mo st p a r t i c u l a r ly upon

members that the courts should

only be used in disputes between

them as a last resort, when all

other avenues have been explored.

Th is

is p a r t i c u l a r ly

so

in

circumstances where acrimony

attends a partnership dissolution.

Yo u n g er Memb e r s

C omm i t t ee

At a recent meeting the Committee

decided to review the question of

a recommended minimum salary

for newly qualified solicitors. In

keeping w i th the Commi t t ee 's

c on c e rn for d e v e l o pme n ts in

London and abroad the Chairman

was happy to report that following

on the meeting in Kinsale of the

joint legal education committees of

the jurisdictions in these islands

p o s i t i ve p r og r ess was made

t owa r ds minimising the require-

ments for qualification as solicitors

in the UK. It is hoped that this

year's Soccer Blitz will take place

on Saturday, 3 September, 1988

at the Law Society, Blackhall Place

and we wou ld be delighted for any

support you can give in organising

this annual event.

Justin McKenna,

Chairman.

Reg i s t r a r 's C omm i t t ee

Introduction

The Registrar's Comm i t t ee in

response to a request from the

President has decided to publish in

this and future editions of the

Gazette

items wh i ch may be of

interest to you, the members of the

profession.

Despite the views expressed by

some s o l i c i t o r s, we at t he

Reg i s t r a rs C omm i t t e e, wh i le

endeavouring to deal w i th genuine

complaints made by the public,

strive to assist you, our colleagues.

I speak for my entire Committee

when I say that we are available to

give assistance, guidance and

direction to any solicitor who may

feel he has a problem. Please do

contact us either personally or

through the Society.

Pat O'Connor.

The Committee

Mr. Pat O'Connor, Chairman of the

Committee, practises in the family

firm of P. O'Connor & Son at

Swinford, Co. Mayo. He qualified

in 1974.

Vice Chairman of the Com-

mittee, Mr. Edward McEllin, is the

principal in the family firm of

Pa t r i ck J. McE l l in & Son,

Courthouse Road, Claremorris, Co.

Mayo. He qualified in 1977.

Ms. Barbara Dowling, Secretary

to the Committee, deals w i th

queries and complaints from the

pub l ic and memb e rs of t he

profession. Ms. Dowling qualified

in 1982 and wo r ked in private

practice before joining the Society

in 1985.

Ms. Catherine Brennan deals

w i th queries and complaints from

the public and members of the

profession. Ms. Brennan qualified

in 1983 and worked in private

practice before joining the Society

in 1987.

What happens when a complaint

is received by the society

The Complaints Section of the

Society receives approximately 10

initial letters of complaint per day

from both members of the public

and the profession. Any letter

wh i ch on the face of it discloses a

complaint against a solicitor is

immediately f o rwa r ded to that

solicitor w i th a request that he

furnish a report to the Society in

t he ma t t e r, w i t h i n 10 day s.

Specific questions arising from the

complainants letter are highlighted

for reply by t he so l i c i t o r. A

standard letter of acknowledge-

ment is sent to the complainant.

The Soc i e ty endeavou rs to

identify as soon as possible the

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