The Gazette 1977

GAZETTE

MAY-JUNE

uneconomic and further to improve the service in the area

of Criminal Legal Aid where the existing service is to put

it mildly only basic and rudimentary.

It is a matter of considerable regret to the Society that

in its approach to the Consultant's Report the National

Prices Commission revealed itself as being quite

unsympathetic to the problems of solicitors endeavouring

to carry on legal practice outside the larger urban centres

in Ireland and seemed to be concerning itself with

property transactions to the detriment of the problems in

the area of Court work.

Taken as a whole the outcome from the Profession's

point of view is totally unsatisfactory. The Consultant's

Report found that the Society's application on behalf of

the Solicitors' Profession for the increase in fees sought

was justified on the grounds of rapid increases in wages,

salary and administration costs in addition to the fact that

earnings in private practice had fallen behind that of

many employees in comparable forms of public

employment and further, and of considerable significance,

that solicitors had done relatively badly in comparison

with the community as a whole. In particular the

Consultant found that, contrary to the general belief,

increases in property values through inflation did not, by

reason of the tapering scale of fees applicable, increase

solicitors incomes from Conveyancing in the same

proportion.

I am glad to once again have an opportunity of

emphasising that in the area of fees for Court work, the

Consultant has found that increases in the past have been

infrequent, and long delays have occurred between

applications for increases and their final determination,

but more important probably still, that increases granted

have failed to take account of rapid inflation. Hence, in

putting forward his recommendation for increases in the

scale of fees the Consultant has suggested that they

should be effected as soon as possible. As members of the

Solicitors' Profession realise only too well, but this may

not be appreciated by the Public and the Media, all

increases for solicitors' fees must be processed through

the Statutory Costs Committee which controls Solicitors'

Costs. The Profession's experience in the past as to the

time taken for such processing has been that by the time

increases are finally sanctioned that any benefit that

might have accrued as a result has been totally eroded by

the rapid increases in the overheads referred to above and

the effect of inflation.

Reference is made in the Report to the monopoly of

solicitors, particularly in the field of Conveyancing and

also to advertising and to general procedural problems in

the work of solicitors, which cause delays.

The questions of monopoly and advertising are, in the

view of the Society, matters of public policy which have

been debated in great depth and at considerable length in

both the United Kingdom, the British Commonwealth

and European Countries over many years, without any

conclusions having been reached, other than that the

present system should be retained. The Society accepts

the views of the Commission's Consultant as an

Economist, but believes that much more research is

necessary on these fundamental issues, before they can be

fully debated and before reasonable conclusions can be

drawn which in the final analysis must be in the best

interests of the public. The Society will be prepared to co-

operate fully with the Restrictive Practices Commission in

any investigation it proposes to carry out in these areas.

If there is any satisfaction to be derived for the

Profession from the Conclusions and Recommendations

of the National Prices Commission in their Report it is

that the Public is now fully aware that the Solicitors'

Profession, instead of being overpaid as is widely believed,

is in fact inadequately compensated in many areas of

work. To that limited extent the inquiry must be regarded

as having been worthwhile if it provides little consolation

for the Profession. It is a matter of regret that the

members of Profession who spend so much of their time

and in fact devote so much of their working lives to

endeavouring to secure justice for their clients seem to be

unable to secure elementary justice for themselves, which

is now clearly being denied to the Profession in the field of

Remuneration. This simple fact is borne out by the

National Prices Commission's own Report on Solicitors'

Remuneration in Ireland.

The New Premises in Blackhall Place

An event of májor importance in the history of the

Society took place in the month of April of this year when

the Society formally moved into its new premises at

Blackhall Place. The Society's administrative offices are

now located there and the Council and its Committees are

already availing of the excellent facilities for their work

and meetings. It is hoped that by the Autumn of this year

facilities will be available there for members of the Society

which will be of very considerable benefit and advantage,

in particular to Country Members. Office type facilities

and car parking will be available at Blackhall Place, but in

the meantime, every effort is being made to improve the

facilities for consultations and other necessary and

ancillary services at the Society's existing premises at the

Solicitors' Buildings in the Four Courts. I would like to

take this opportunity of emphasising that the Society does

not at any stage propose abandoning its presence at the

Four Courts and it is proposed to retain an adequate

portion of the existing Solicitors' Buildings to maintain

these facilities. The Society is financing the current

Blackhall Place Development Project from its own

resources, which in effect means from its own

membership. An extensive fund raising campaign is now

in motion and, to date, the indications are that the support

of the membership is both generous and enthusiastic

which is most encouraging. It is of vital importance that

this should be so, because if the Profession were to seek

financial support from other sources it could then be

regarded as compromising the independence which it

values so highly and here I would like to once again take

the opportunity of emphasising the fact that we are one of

the very few truly independent professions still left in

existence. As part of its efforts to generate funds for the

Blackhall Place Development the Society proposes to

dispose of a section of its premises at the Solicitors'

Buildings in the Four Courts, but the Society is satisfied

that the remaining accommodation will be quite adequate

for the needs of the Profession in the immediate area of

the Courts.

The Society's Educational Programme

I am glad to be able to say that the preparations for the

Society's new Educational Programme which is due to

come into operation on the 1st September, 1978 are

proceeding with considerable expedition. The

accommodation provided for the Society's new Law

School in Blackhall Place is expected to be available by

the end of the current year allowing adequate time for all