Previous Page  449 / 822 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 449 / 822 Next Page
Page Background

GAZETTE

SEPTEMBER 1988

TAXAT ION

CONSULTANCY

SERVICE

Practitioners are reminded of the

existence of the Co n s u l t a n cy Ser-

v i ce in T a x a t i on Law and

Practice.

The service is intended to assist

solicitors in dealing w i th particular

taxation problems wh i ch a f f ect

their clients. The principal areas

covered are Capital Acquisitions

Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Stamp

Du t i e s. W i t h t he i n c r e a s i ng

complexity of tax legislation, tax

advice may be required in relation

t o many aspects of the adminis-

tration of estates and the transfer

of properties whe t her voluntary or

for value. Members are encouraged

t o make use of the Consultancy

Service in any situation in wh i ch

they are uncertain about the tax

implications of a client's proposed

course of action.

Terms of the

Consultency Service

1. The client shall remain the client

of the referring solicitor unless

there is some special arrange-

ment to the contrary. The con-

sultant will not, w i t hout the

referring solicitor's consent,

consult directly w i t h the client.

2. The referring solicitor will be

personally responsible for the

consultant's fee.

3. Both the consultant and the

referring solicitor should ensure

that the other is adequately

insured against professional

negligence.

4. The referring solicitor may

charge the consultant's fee

either as an item of outlay or

absorb such fee and include an

equivalent amount in his profes-

sional charges to the client.

Consultants

1. In response to a notice in the

Gazette

a number of members

volunteered to act as con-

sultants and a list or panel of

t h o se c o n s u l t a n ts is n ow

available at the Society.

2. Members of the panel may

r e s t r i ct t he ir s e r v i c es t o

particular fields of tax law and

practice.

3. A member of the panel may

decline to accept a referral in

any case w i t hout specifying a

reason for such refusal.

4. Wh i le neither the Taxa t i on

Committee nor the Law Society

can accept responsibility for the

advice given by the consultant

the Committee will be monitor-

ing the operation of the scheme

and will be anxious to hear of

any problems that arise and will

endeavour to assist in solving

t hem.

5. The consultant shall undertake

that neither he nor any firm of

wh i ch he is a member will

accept instructions from the

client in any matter save on a

referral basis in the period of

t w o years commenc i ng after

the date of conclusion of the

consultancy for such client.

Solicitors - how public are

your private conversations?

The problem ol private consultations being over-

heard by those in waiting areas is quite a common

one, particularly when the areas is close to the

consulting room. Now there is an inexpensive elec-

tronic solution to this problem that is easy to install

and requires no structural alteration! With Sound-

masking, conversations are kept private and

con(ideniial-a benefit for both lawyers and their

clients. - For further particulars contact:

Soundmasking Ltd.

25, Harcourt St. Dublin 2. Tel: 780499/780037

The Farmer and

The Law

LAW SOCIETY

TIES

£6.00 each

Contact: Accoun ts Dept.,

Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.

ONE DAY SEMI NAR

15 t h October 1988

Venue: Law Society

Blackhall Place.

Further details:-

Contact A. Geraghty

or C. Mahon: 7 1 0 7 11

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

The Society's Law School has

recently completed a compre-

hensive survey of all solicitors who

were admitted to the Roll in the ten

year period ending on the 31st

December, 1987. The survey

succeeded in tracing 94% of the

2,046 people who were enrolled

during that period.

The most striking result was that

of the 81 % of those who were in

private practice no less than one in

every four were sole practitioners.

Sixty-five solicitors were in the

State or semi-State employment

while forty-five were in industry or

commerce and only nine were not

working as solicitors. The survey

destroyed the myth that there

might be substantial numbers,

particularly women solicitors,

working on a part-time basis. There

was a grand total of eight.

Five per cent or 105 were

identified as working abroad — 47

in the United Kingdom, 28 in the

United States, 7 (!) in Hong Kong,

4 each in Australia and Belgium.

The f i gu r es for the UK are

suspected to be understated since

the newly formed Association of

Irish solicitors in London has well

over 50 members. Indeed, it is clear

that the numbers in the UK are

increasing steadily as recruitment

by UK f i rms and p l acement

agencies is stepped up and that the

figure ascertained by the survey is

already out of date.

There are already signs that the

exodus to London may be creating

a scarcity of newly qualified

solicitors in Dublin. London salaries

could be matched by few, if any,

Dublin practices. The survey does

not suggest that there is any

significant reservoir of under-

employed or unemployed solicitors

waiting to fill the gaps which are

beginning to appear and the trend

of solicitors going to London may

be about to cause problems for the

profession in Dublin and the rest of

the country.

JFB

211