523 / 822
GAZETTE
DECEMBER 1988
Company /Comme r c i al
Referral Serv i ce
1. H i s t o ry a nd Na t u re
The
Coun c il
es t ab l i shed
a
consultancy service in Company/
Commercial Law in April, 1983.
Since that date the Council has
established a consultancy service
in Taxation Law and Practice and in
order
to
ensure
t hat
t he
consultancy services established
by the Society operate on a similar
basis there has been a review of the
terms and basis of the Company/
Commercial Referral Service.
Practitioners should be reminded
that the service is intended to
assist solicitors in dealing w i th
particular Company Law/Com-
mercial problems which affect their
clients.
2. Terms of Con s u l t an cy Se r v i ce
(1) The principle upon which the
consultancy service will work is
that the consulting firm will not
accept from the client within t wo
years of the completion of the
Consultancy Assignment, any work
of the type which, at the time when
the consu l t i ng firm was first
retained in relation to that client's
affairs, was being carried out by the
referring firm, without the approval
of the referring firm.
This will not however, be an
absolute rule as obviously circum-
stances can arise, such as the
death of a sole practitioner, in a
practice where the client would
insist on going elsewhere anyway.
(2) The client shall remain the client
of the referring solicitor unless
there is some special arrangement
to the contrary. The consultant will
not, without the referring solicitor's
consent, consult directly w i th the
client. Again, however, this cannot
be an absolute rule as in certain
circumstances it would not be right
for the consultant to be in a
situation where the facts in which
they were being asked to advise
were limited only to those which
the referring firm gave them or if
the advice was being conveyed at
secondhand to the client.
(3) The referring solicitor would be
personally responsible for the
consultant's fee.
(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 professional charges
to the client.
(5) It is not envisaged that a fee
would be payable to the referring
firm by the consultancy firm.
3. Co n s u l t a n ts
(1) A list of the firms prepared to
participate in this service is now
available from the Society. Contact
Anne Hegarty, Solicitor, The Law
Society, Tel.710711.
(2) A member of the panel may
decline to accept a referral in any
case without specifying a reason
for such refusal.
(3) While neither the Company Law
Committee nor the Law Society
can accept responsibility for the
advice given by the consultant the
Committee will be monitoring the
operation of the scheme and will be
anxious to hear of any problems
that arise and will endeavour to
assist in solving them.
•
L A U R E N CE S I M O N S
/77
/ A
A S S O C I A T ES
/ o i
LEGAL RECRUITMENT
London Calling
The demand for solicitors in London and the South East continues to substan-
tially exceed the supply.
We have a wide range of clients, from 2 partner firms in the West End to the
largest practices in the City, who are keen to recruit Irish solicitors.
In particular demand are those aged 22 to 28 with good qualifications and
experience in conveyancing and company/commercial work.
Anne Stephenson is an Irish solicitor with several years' experience both in
the Profession and in the recruitment of lawyers in London. Having successfully
introduced many Irish solicitors to London firms, nobody has more knowledge
and experience of the market or is better placed to understand your
requirements.
For further information, please contact Anne Stephenson on 031 831 3270, or
write to her with a full Curriculum Vitae, if possible including home and work
telephone numbers, at Laurence Simons Associates, 33 John's Mews, London
WC1N 2NS. All approaches will be treated in strict confidence.
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