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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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