The Gazette 1964/67

Army Legal Service It was decided that the Society should represent members of the profession in the Army Legal service on the presentation of a pay claim to the Department of Defence. Gross Sum Agreement. Contentious Business Member acted for the claimant in an accident case which was settled for an agreed sum and costs after the institution of proceedings. Member had agreed the solicitor and client costs with the client at a sum °f £43 5 s - °d- The party and party costs paid by the defendant amounted to £38. Member received the damages and costs and by agreement with the client deducted the agreed solicitor and own client costs from the sum received and forwarded the balance to the client. The client subsequently wrote to member stating that he required a detailed solicitor and client bill. The Council on a report from a committee stated that having regard to the provisions of the Attorneys and Solicitors Act, 1870 acceptance by member of part of the costs before the agreement had been approved by Taxing Master invalidated the gross sum agreement and the client was entitled to have the costs drawn and taxed in the ordinary way. The position would have been otherwise if the business were non-contentious as in that case the position would have been regulated by section 8 of the Solicitors Remuneration Act, 1881 which does not require an antecedent approval of the agree ment before receipt by the solicitor of any amount payable thereunder. Solicitor-trustee. Costs Member acted as one of the trustees of certain diocesan property. He received instructions to act for the trustees in the sale of this property and also of other diocesan property of which he was not trustee. He asked for guidance as to the position regarding the costs. The Council on a report from a committee stated that neither member nor his firm would be entitled to charge profit costs but the trustee-solicitor could appoint his partner to act with the consent of the other trustees and that solicitor would be entitled to charge the ordinary profit costs provided that the solicitor-trustee is precluded by the contract from receiving or sharing in the costs. The agreement must be in existence before the work is undertaken. The Council ex pressed no opinion on the question whether the costs of the whole sale could be apportioned between the two properties for the purpose of charge. Advertising A firm of solicitors acted as agents for a publishing firm and issued correspondence on printed notepaper 10

Further, his lordship thought that there was also an implied agreement that the action should be brought to an end in the cheapest and quickest way which was by a summons and order in the Tomlin form, so that if any difficulties arose it would be unnecessary to start a fresh action. He would dismiss the appeal. (McCallum v. Country Residences, Ltd. The Solicitors' Journal (Vol. 109), p. 294). LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS SUPPLEMENTARY LIST TO I5TH MAY, 1965 Anson, J.— Law of Contract, 22nd Edn., 1964; All England Law Reports— Index and Nofer-Up, 1964; Current Lan> Citator— 1947 to 1964 ; Current Law Yearbook— 1964 ; Hatvkins and R)>der on the Construction of Wills, 1965, being the 4th Edn. of Hawkins ; Josling, J. F.— Adoption of Children, 6th Edn., 1965 ; Law Quarterly Review— Index to Vols. 1-80, Ed. Allsopp, 1965 ; McNair Lord— The Law of the Air, 3rd Edn., 1964; Park, W. D.— Hire-Purchase and Credit Sales, 4th Edn., 1965 ; Scottish Council of Law Reporting— Annual Digest of Decisions in Scots Cases— 1961-62 ; Stroud, F.— Judicial Dictionary, Second Supplement to Third Edition, 1965 ; Wheatcroft, G. S., ed.:— 'Estate and Gift Taxation— A comparative Study— 1965 ; Wilkinson, G. S.— Affiliation Law andPractice, Second Edition, 1965. MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL APRIL 29x11: The President in the chair, also present Messrs. Ralph J. Walker, Thomas A. O'Reilly, Thomas J. Fitzpatrick, Patrick O'Donnell, Francis Armstrong, Augustus Cullen, William A. Osborne, Rory O'Connor, Daniel J. O'Connor, Robert McD. Taylor, Francis J. Lanigan, Niall S. Gaffney, Thomas O'Donnell, Desmond J. Collins, James R. Green, Desmond Moran, George G. Overend, John Carrigan, George A. Nolan, James W. O'Donovan, John B. Jermyn, Gerald Y. Goldberg, Reginald J. Nolan, Thomas V. O'Connor, Eunan McCarron, Thomas H. Bacon, Gerard M. Doyle, Peter E. O'Connell, Patrick Noonan. The following was among the business transacted : Trade Mark Agency It was decided to reconsider the question of the propriety of the use of the description " Trade Mark Agent" on a solicitors' stationery mentioned in the Society's Gazette, March 1965, and the matter was referred back to a committee for further con sideration and report.