The Gazette 1949-1952

amount to £ X inclusive o f stamp duty.” There are other possible variations o f these references to the costs. The Council deprecate such references to costs in advertisements for the sale o f house property on the ground that they tend to convey to a prospective purchaser the impression that the services o f the vendor’s solicitor are at his disposal without any additional charge, and that it is un­ necessary to retain his own solicitor. Advertisements o f this kind inserted by solicitors can reasonably be regarded as calculated to attract business unfairly, and, as such, are a breach o f professional etiquette. As a general rule, references to costs in advertise­ ments for the sale o f property are unnecessary and are to be deprecated. There is one exception to this, namely, in the case o f a sale by way o f sub­ lease reserving a fine. In such cases it is recommended that the contract should contain a clause that the vendor and purchaser will pay the costs o f their respective solicitors, and it is permissible to include a statement to the same effect in the advertisement. The view o f the Council on this matter can be briefly summarised as follows : (1) It is in the interests both o f the public and o f the profession that practices which tend to induce purchasers not to be separately represented should be avoided. (2) The imposition on a prospective lessee- purchaser o f liability for the lessor’s costs o f showing title and preparing the lease is such a practice to be avoided, as the expense o f two sets o f costs is more than most purchasers are prepared to pay. (3) Reference to the costs in an advertisement (other than a statement in the case o f a sale by way o f lease that each party will pay the costs o f his own solicitor) is such a practice to be avoided as it tends to attract the prospective purchaser to the vendor’s solicitor.

solicitor s travelling and subsistence expenses, should be paid in full subject to vouching.* (b) The solicitor should receive a reasonable instructions fee from the State, which would enable him to undertake the defence without incurring a financial loss due to absence from his office and, having regard to the overhead expenses o f running a solicitor’s office, which are at least 50 per cent, o f his gross earned costs. It was pointed out that the present allowances to solicitors are altogether inadequate, and it was suggested that in fixing the amount o f the fee, regard should be had to the amount o f work done, and responsibility involved in the case. The deputation also suggested that the rule whereby a country solicitor is required to attend personally in Dublin for the purpose o f applying for the assignment should be abolished and that it should be sufficient if the town agent attends for that purpose with an authorisation in writing from the county correspondent. The Attorney General undertook to lay the views o f the Society before the Minister for Finance, and to communicate with the judges on the subject o f the necessity o f the personal attendance o f country solicitors to apply for the assignment. The Society has recently received from the Attorney General copy o f a minute from the Department o f Finance stating that the Minister for Finance is prepared to agree that, in future, the solicitor assigned for the defence may be allowed, in addition to the assignment fee o f 6 guineas, and 3 guineas refreshers, travelling expenses to and from Dublin, and subsistence allowance at the rate appropriate to the highest grade o f civil servants, if he is necessarily absent from home. The rates o f subsistence allowances at present in force are :— 1. 7 hours or more, but not more than 10 hours ... ... ... ... ... 2. 10 hours or more, not extending over­ night ..................................................... 3. Overnight absence up to 24 hours, and any balance o f time not amounting to 7 hours ........................................ 2 1 16 . The effect o f the above authorisation is that the assignment fee in the case of Dublin solicitors will be 6 guineas with 3 guineas refreshers. The same scale applies to country solicitors in addition to travelling and subsistence allowances as set out above. 10 7/2.

LEGAL AID Assignments in murder cases

O n 10th December, 1948, the Attorney General received a deputation from the Council on the subject o f the inadequacy o f the present allowances to solicitors who are assigned to defend murder eases. The deputation urged that, in fixing the allowances made to solicitors, the matter should .be dealt with in the following w a y :—

(a) All proper disbursements, including the