The Gazette 1961 - 64

towing and garaging of a motor car involved in an accident and members wrote to a garage proprietor requesting an account, which came to approximately , £25. It was stated that the garage proprietor received instructions from members' firm to carry out the work. The account was apparently sub mitted to the solicitor for the insurance company acting for the defendant and the claim was settled. The garage proprietor did not receive payment nor did he hear whether or not the claim had been settled. Members' clients have left the country and members have no funds in hands. An opinion from the Council was required as to whether or not members were personally liable and whether or not they could properly now furnish their client's present address to the solicitor for the garage proprietor in order to enable him to proceed for the recovery of the amount due to his client. The Council on a report from a committee were of opinion that (a) if members acted on behalf of a principal who was disclosed to the creditor they were not personally liable; (F) if they did not disclose their principal it appeared that they were personally liable; (f) there could be no objection to the disclosure by members of their client's present address if in fact they had disclosed his name and address when giving their instructions initially. The fact that the client's original address was given would in the absence of evidence to the contrary be an authorisation to disclose his new address. SECTION 58, LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT, 1941 The attention of members is directed to the above section, the text of which reads as follows :— " Where a sum is due to any person by a local authority and, at the same time, a sum is due to such local authority by such person in respect of rates or would be so due but for the fact that such sum has been advanced and paid to such local authority by a rate collector, the former sum may be set off against the latter either, as may be appropriate, in whole or in part." The right given to a local authority under this section will apparently defeat any lien or charge given by a client to a solicitor for costs against a grant or payment of any description due to the client from the local authority. UNDERTAKING BY SOLICITOR WITHDRAWAL OF RETAINER The Council have been considering the difficulty in which a solicitor can find himself where he has given an undertaking on behalf of a client and the client subsequently withdraws his retainer and

instructs some other solicitor. Depending upon the terms of the undertaking given a solicitor could in certain circumstances find himself in the position of grave embarrassment. For example, if a client instructed a solicitor to give an undertaking to a bank to pay over in discharge of an overdraft moneys coming into his hands belonging to the client and if the client subsequently terminated the retainer and called upon the solicitor to account to him for all further moneys coming into his hands or already held and not paid over in accordance with the undertaking the solicitor might find himself liable to proceedings by the former client for the recovery of his money on the one hand and pro ceedings by the bank on foot of his undertaking on the other hand. The Council have approved of the following form of authority and retainer which a solicitor could use on being instructed and prior to giving any under taking on behalf of the client. The solicitor should write to the client as follows :— Dear Mr. A. (client), In order to complete this matter I shall have to give an undertaking to which will bind me professionally to (set out terms of the undertaking). I must have your irrevocable authority and retainer in order to give this undertaking and if you will write that you agree I shall proceed with the matter immediately. Yours faithfully, (solicitor). An unconditional affirmative reply in writing from the client will constitute the necessary authority. The solicitor would then be in a position, if the client purported to terminate his retainer, to act according to the undertaking given by him. The letter in reply from the client should be stamped with the appropriate Revenue duty. MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS AND REPORTS The Council has had under consideration for some time the general question of medical examina tions and reports. The particular aspects of the matters which have engaged the attention of the Council are (i) the question of medical reports by doctors on their patients who have been involved in road accidents being made available to insurance companies and (2) the scope of medical examinations and reports on workmen in workmen's compensa tion cases. The Society took these questions up with the Irish Medical Association and an approved statement to be issued in the Journal of the Association was drafted. The following is the text of the statement and it is understood that it is to