439 / 822
GAZETTE
SEPTEMBER 1 9 88
From the President . . .
legislation, there is little that the
practitioner can do to lessen the
work.
The
So c i e ty
is
ma k i ng
s u bm i s s i o ns t o t he r e l evant
D e p a r t me n ts as t o h ow t he
s i t u a t i on may be i mp r o v e d.
Whether there is the will in Govern-
ment to respond remains to be
seen. In t he me a n t i me, t he
profession must continue to suffer
under the present system wh i ch is
taking longer and longer to close a
simple sale. In fact, wh en I think
about it, there is no longer such a
thing as a simple sale!
I have said in a number of speeches
that our object as solicitors must be
to provide legal services at a pace,
cost and standard acceptable to
the public.
The perception of our politicians
is that while all three aims are
important, the question of cost is
paramount.
It is my view that while cost is a
very fundamental factor, it is not
t h e o v e r r i d i ng one and t he
challenge facing us is to find a
b a l a n ce
b e t w e en
all
t h r ee
requirements while still providing
for the practitioner a fair days pay
for a fair days work.
Should you cut corners to get a
job done in a shorter time scale?
Should you give less time to a
client because the fee does not
warrant the detailed explanation of
wh a t is happening?
The experience in other countries
seems to show that the cut price
job is as unsatisfactory to the client
as it is to the practitioner and is
mu ch more likely to give rise to
claims at a later stage.
If our politicians are really serious
in trying to help us to give a better
service, then there are a number of
imp r ovemen ts wh i ch could be
made immediately. The capping of
the times for claims under the
Family Home Protection Act and
Planning Permissions / Bye Law
approvals come readily to mind.
All of us suffer the frustration
and our clients suffer considerable
cost of a lot of largely unnecessary
work in sales and purchases to-day.
However, w i t h the standard of care
set in the case of
Roche -v- Peilow
and the failure to update our
v.
il/vflvl i^, A %
YOUR OWN
HOL I DAY HOME
IN CONNEMARA
FROM £ 9 50
Time-Sharing
makas It aasy
Tha place-Connemara
Country Cottages
l oca t ed in an Idyllic
se t t i ng just outslda
Oughtarard.
An Informative
get-together Is being
organised shortly
In Dublin.
For details ring:
2 1 6 0 7 2 / 4 6 2 4 11
T H O M AS D. SHAW
President
Annual
Review of
Irish Law
1987
Raymond Byrne and William Binchy
With a foreword by Mr Justice Brian Walsh
This first Annual Review of Irish Law provides
practitioners, academics and students with an
analytical and perceptive account of work by
the courts, by the Oireachtas, scholars and
practitioners during 1987. For the first time it
will be possible to read a review of the year's
judicial decisions and statutory reforms on a
subject-by-subject basis. It thus provides an
account of the progress of Irish law which
cannot be found elsewhere.
In his foreword Mr Justice Brian Walsh of the
Supreme Court observes that 'the comments
upon the various legal developments are both
judicious and instructive . . . It is hoped that
this volume and succeeding volumes will be
found in all law libraries and in libraries dealing
with the social sciences . . . and that the
success of this first volume will guarantee that
in future we shall each year see a new volume
presenting us with a conspectus of current
developments in Irish law'. Publication date 15
September 1988. Price £55.00
The Round Hall Press
Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin.
Telephone: 892922
T i l l K O I M )
Iftl
I I A I . L PRLSS
2 0 3