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GAZETTE
DECEMBER 1995
proposed entrance to the Society's
Law School have found themselves
consequent upon the recent High
Court decision. A detailed review of
the implications of the decision is
being carried out by the Society and
the concerns of those most
immediately affected are foremost in
the Society's considerations. A
Special Meeting of the Council will be
held on Tuesday 31 October next to
specifically address these concerns
and the consequent legal issues raised
by the High Court decision. Because
the High Court Judgment is under
Appeal to the Supreme court, the Law
Society must abide by its legal advice
that it cannot take any other action at
this time."
This statement was reported in the
Irish Times
on 21 October in an article
headed 'Law Society to Meet on
Entrance Issue'. The statement was
also covered in the Irish Independent
of 21 October 1995.
Irish Times Editorial - the issue of
legal training
The editorial of the Irish Times on 24
October dealt with the issue of legal
education. It referred to the fact that
the recent High Court decision on the
issue of entry procedures to the Law
Society's training course for solicitors
is a symptom of a much wider
malaise; and one that involves not just
300
the Law Society but also the Kings
Inns', the equivalent training body for
Barristers. It stated that the whole
question of how students are admitted
to both professional bodies, how they
are selected, who is eligible for
selection and the adequacy of the
training provided has been the subject
of controversy and public concern for
several decades. The editorial referred
to the fact that the present debate is
understandably centred on the plight
of the recent law graduates but that
the Law Society has to comply with
the courts ruling pending the outcome
of the Supreme Court decision and the
Appeal by the Queens University
students. The editorial referred to the
Fair Trade Commission Report which
dealt with the issue of legal training.
The editorial stated "five years on the
problem is far more acute than when
the Commission reported". It
concluded that: "it is time the whole
question of legal education, both at
university level and in terms of
professional training was examined.
Only a Government can initiate such
an examination."
Education and Living Supplement
In the Education and Living
Supplement of the Irish Times on the
same day October 24 there was an
article on the problem of numbers
entering both the barristers profession
and solicitors profession. The article
pointed out that the recent High Court
ruling - striking down a crucial
exemption for law graduates seeking
training as solicitors - has highlighted
a crisis in the legal professions. The
article questioned whether the crush
for entry into an overcrowded area is
in the public interest and asked
whether it is in the public interest for
lawyers to have such complete control
over access to qualifications - and for
universities to keep creating courses.
The article continued that the system is
clogged up with a backlog of previous
years law graduates still seeking places.
The article went on "since the granting
of the exemption to law graduates,
according to
Ken Murphy,
Law Society
Director General, the Society has been
staggering under the weight of
increasing numbers of graduate
applicants. Waiting lists are in the
hundreds and waiting time for a law
graduate to gain admission to the
course has ranged from one to one and
a half years; The Society now runs five
separate intakes to the course over each
two year period." The article quoted
Paul O'Connor,
Dean of UCD Law
Faculty. He does not see anything
intrinsically wrong, as a general
principle in the Law Society
operating an entrance exam for law
graduates, providing it does so for
sound education reasons and to
maintain standards in the profession
rather than as a 'crude device' to
limit numbers.
Statement issues after Special
Council Meeting
The Law Society Council met on 31
October 1995 to discuss the issue of
the effect of the Bloomer case. On 1
November a press release was issued
which outlined the decision taken. The
press release stated that the Law
Society decided it was reasonable and
appropriate that certain university law
graduates whose eligibility for entry
to the Society's professional training
course had become legally uncertain
in consequence of a High Court
Judgment of the 22 September 1995,
should have that legal uncertainty
removed. The decision applied to:-
(i) persons who had received a
proported exemption from the