The Gazette 1995

Dear Editor

I refer to the article entitled "Civil

Legal Aid Bill, 1995", published on

page 193 of your July '95 issue of the

Gazette

and written by

Ms. Sabha

Green.

The article contains the

appaling

statement that "Lawyers are from a

different educational and social

background than their potential clients".

The context of Legal Aid in which it

was used does not in any way mitigate

its ugliness. Neither is it accurate.

I will not labour the point by argument;

the statement speaks for itself.

Yours sincerely

Eamonn Gavin

A Reply to Eamonn Gavin

Dear Editor

The article entitled "Civil Legal Aid

Bill 1995" was intended, in part, as an

outline of the barriers facing those

living in poverty who are seeking

access to justice. FLAC believes that it

is only in this way that we can set

about finding solutions to ensure equal

access for all.

I This, then, was the context in which

the point was made. It was a statement

based on fact and empirical evidence.

' It was in no way intended to be read as

j pejorative.

While, accepting that not all lawyers

are from a different educational and

| social background as those clients who

j are reliant on legal aid services, FLAC

believes that it is accurate to say that

| this is the case most of the time. Firstly,

the majority of lawyers have obtained a

university degree, while the majority of

those living in poverty have not. This is

| a clear difference in the level of

education. Secondly, the most recent

j complete figures

(1993 Source -

Higher Education Authority)

for the

socio-economic breakdown of full time

university students show that 69%

come from a farming, professional,

employer, salaried or non-manual

background. Therefore, it is reasonable

to infer that those lawyers who have a

degree are very likely to have come

from an advantaged background.

This should not be taken to mean that

lawyers have no understanding of the

problems facing those living in poverty.

The legal profession has a long history

of providing

pro bono

work to those

unable to afford private services.

However, for those in disadvantaged

communities, there is a real difficulty in

approaching lawyers due to this

difference in educational and social

background.

Sabha Greene

Administrator

Free Legal Advice Centres

; Dear Editor

| I first entered General Practice in 1980

and over the past 15 years I have had

personal experience of an increasing

demand for medicolegal reports from

solicitors. My annual number of court

attendances has increased. This year,

for the first time, I was requested by

two firms of solicitors, to attend the

High Court, to give evidence at two

separate cases, on the same morning.

Medicolegal work now constitutes a

significant portion of my workload. My

experience is not unique and would be

| replicated by many of my peers in

general practice.

Apart from the increased workload, I

am struck by the number of solicitors

| now requesting a specialist referral for

the purpose of compiling a

| medicolegal report. My experience

| would suggest that this is a growing

practice. These requests are based on

| the assumption that a specialist report

I will carry more weight in court.

I believe the assumptions underlying

these requests are open to question.

The request for specialist referral

stems from poor understanding of the

respective role of the generalist and

the specialist. It is assumed that

because of higher degrees and hospital ,

based practice, that his evidence is of

a superior quality. There is no

disputing the specialist's depth of

knowledge of his speciality, however

they lack the broad general view of

the generalist. We live in an era of

subspecialisation within the

specialities. It has been said, with

| some justification, that we now have

specialists who know more and more

I about less and less. The specialist will

certainly have very complete

knowledge about a patient when the

I individual is under his care in the

hospital setting. However surely the

professional providing continuous

whole person care is in a better

position to provide information of

' interest to the legal profession.

| The General Practitioner will usually

have a pre-accident history of the

patient and can make informed

comments about changes to the

; individual's health and lifestyle over a ;

long time scale. The specialist lacks

i this unique perspective.

These comments are not intended as a ;

criticism of my hospital based

i colleagues but rather an attempt to

i clarify their different perspective. It is

| not an attempt to state that on type of

doctor is better than another but simply

to illustrate our differing but

complimentary roles. It is also

important to state that General Practice

is recognised by the Medical Council,

as an independent speciality in its own

Í right with its own post-graduate

training programme and post-graduate

I qualifications. For many years now

General Practice has attracted the

brightest and most able of our medical

graduates.

I would clearly differentiate between a

report obtained from a specialist

involved in treating a patient and a

report requested from a specialist to

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