449 / 822
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
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