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GAZETTE
N E W S
MAY/JUNE 1995
Solicitors' Benevolent Association AGM
individual members of the profession
and a number of Solicitors' firms who
make further donations in addition to
their annual subscriptions.
The work of the Association is
conducted on a confidential basis.
Currently about sixty grants are paid
out each month. The total paid out in
1994 was £162,000. The
circumstances of the applicants are
very varied. Some are assisted in the
short term until they are financially
independent. Applicants in the older
age groups tend to be long-term
beneficiaries. All cases are reviewed
each month by the Board. The
Association has assisted on a number
of occasions with grants towards the
education of children at third level
and it is particularly heartening to
receive letters of appreciation from
such beneficiaries when they have
gone on to qualify. Where an
applicant has an asset (such as a
house) which cannot be readily
realised without causing further
hardship, grants may be paid in the
form of a loan repayable on the
applicant's death.
'
Solicitors are especially asked to
j
remember the Association when
making their own wills. Indeed they
might also consider putting in a good j
word for their less fortunate
colleagues and their dependents when
j
clients are making wills. If the client
was happy with the service he may be i
glad to show his appreciation by way
of a bequest to the Solicitors
!
Benevolent Association!
j
Geraldine
Pearse
Secretary
THE LEGAL DIARY
Having regard to cost factors in
the production of the Legal Diary
the Minister has approved an
increase in the 1995 subscription
rate from £99.00 to £102.70.
At the recent AGM of the Solicitors
Benevolent Association tributes were
paid to
Andrew F. Smyth
on his
retirement as Chairman, after four
years in office. Mr Smyth had given
very generously of his time to the
work of the Association.
While the Association is administered
from Dublin it covers the thirty-two
counties of Ireland. Both
Aidan
Canavan,
President of the Law
Society of Northern Ireland, and
George Palmer,
Junior Vice
President, were present at the AGM.
There is a total of twenty-one
Directors on the Board from all parts
of the country who meet on a monthly
basis. The Association is completely
independent of both Law Societies
North and South. Meetings are held in
Belfast from time to time.
The newly elected Chairman is
Tom
Menton,
Solicitor, of O'Keeffe &
Lynch, 30 Molesworth Street, Dublin
2, who has served as a Director for a
number of years. Mr Menton noted
that since he had become involved in
the Association the demand on the
funds had steadily increased.
Applicants for grants from the
younger age groups have increased
resulting in their families being
dependent on the assistance of the
Association for a longer period.
As a result of the increase in demand
the Association is very grateful for
donations from any source.
The main source of income is the
subscriptions paid annually to the Law
Society which funds the largest part of
the monthly grants paid to
beneficiaries. Donations are also
received from various Bar
Associations and as a result of Golf
Outings. The Association is also
grateful to the Society of Young
Solicitors and the Younger Members
| Committee, both of which make
donations. Others deserving the
Association's thanks include
Tom Menton (left) who was recently elected Chairman
of the Solicitors'
Benevolent
Association,
with Andrew
F. Smyth, Senior Vice President
of the Law Society
and
former Chairman of the SBA.
166