The Gazette 1995

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GAZETTE
Nationwide RTE 1 TV - the issue
of numbers
On the RTE TV programme Nationwide
on 3 November there was a special
feature on the problem of numbers in
the solicitors profession. The feature
explored the reality of making a living
in the profession and pointed out that
there are too many solicitors, too few
jobs and for the present law graduates
there are great difficulties infinding an
apprenticeship. The Director General of
the Law Society was interviewed and
said "we would say that the rate of
growth in the profession is such that it
can't be sustained in terms of providing
a livelihood for people who are seeking
to enter it. We are trying to redress it in
two ways, firstly by means of
information such as this, to ask people
to check out the realities of what faces
them before they commit themselves to
seeking a life in the profession and,
secondly, we are seeking to amend our
education course to see if we can
provide students with other skills and
knowledge which they could apply in
other areas of the economy outside of
private practice, because there are
simply no jobs there." Various law
students outlined the problem of getting
into the legal profession. Barbara
Cotter, recruitment partner with A & L
Goodbody was also interviewed and
said "I think it is very difficult for them
to get apprenticeships. I would see it
from the side of receiving applications
every year for apprenticeships and this
firm alone would receive 300
applications every year and that would
be for about eight or ten places, so you
would, after interviewing, offer
apprenticeships to about eight or ten
law students." Ken Murphy concluded
that "the law seems to obviously
have an extraordinary attraction which
is difficult to rationalise, and we can
only conclude that people are choosing
to seek to enter the profession on
the basis of illusions, both about
what the opportunities are and what
the actual lifestyle could provide
for them."
The case of Alison Bloomer and others v
Incorporated LawSociety of Ireland,
Ireland and the Attorney General was
reported in the LawReports of the Irish
Times on Monday November 6, 1995.
Catherine Dolan •
DECEMBER 1995
Sol icitors Confidential Helpline
In September 1993 it started to
become clear that with the ever
increasing strains both professional
and personal imposed upon the
profession a service to help solicitors
deal with the pressures of a modern
practice was required.
The group of solicitors spearheaded
by members of the Dublin Solicitors
Bar Association examined various
methods by which such a service
could be set up.
In April 1994 the Solicitors
Confidential Helpline became
operational. The Helpline was
organised as a Confidential Telephone
Service to provide a listening point for
solicitors' problems fears and worries.
Anybody wishing to use the Helpline
should dial Dublin 01 - 284 8484. On
dialling this number the solicitor will
obtain the names of two practitioners
together with their telephone number
either of whom he or she can ring to
discuss any particular problem.
last ten years has become increasingly
more complex and stressful.
It is interesting to note that a similar
service is operated within the United
Kingdom. In the UK there are only
approximately 100 solicitor volunteer
helpers for a profession covering
35,000.
The Organising Committee would like
to thank all the practitioners who have
assisted by becoming consultants, the
Law Society for their financial
support of the Scheme and Mary
Rigney the Secretary of the Dublin
Solicitors Bar Association for her
organisational skills in helping the
Scheme run so smoothly.
Any practitioner who is in need of
assistance for any reason should ring
284 8484.
Steering committee: Michael Irvine,
Elma Lynch, Hugh O'Neill, Rory
O'Donnell, Daire Murphy.
The practitioners who have kindly
volunteered to man the Helpline
operate a one week term duty each
year and therefore two different
solicitors man the service each week.
The Confidential Helpline is entirely
independent from the Law Society and
any matter discussed on the Helpline
is done so on an entirely confidential
basis. If the solicitor seeking help
wishes to consult more formally with
the duty solicitors or with any other
practitioner then any such
arrangement is subject to the normal
solicitor/client relationship.
To date the Helpline has received over
400 calls from members of the
profession. These calls have
concerned problems of a professional,
personal and financial nature. It
appears that many of the difficulties
for practitioners stem from solicitors
being either over worked with their
existing case load or finding that their
income has diminished substantially
in recent years. It certainly appears
that the running of a practice in the
Sol icitors
Confidential
Helpline
JUST CALL
2 8 4 8 4 8 4
ENGLISH AGENTS:
Agency work undertaken for Irish
Solicitors in both litigation and
non-contentious matters -
including legal aid.
Fearon & Co., Solicitors,
Westminster House,
12 The Broadway, Woking,
Surrey GU21 5AU.
Fax:0044 - 1483 - 725807
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