The Gazette 1958-61

Insurance Brokers Communicating Direct with Client On certain facts submitted by a member the Council directed that a letter should be written to a firm of insurance brokers protesting against their action in authorising a representative to call on a claimant against their insured with a view to negotiating a settlement in a case in which a solicitor had already been instructed. International publication: Signed article by solicitor advertising Members received a letter from an American publishing company which is preparing an inter national manual of commercial law. The publishers propose to include an introductory article dealing with the law in various countries in which the manual will be circulated, and members were invited to contribute an article on Ireland with their names appearing in the heading of the article. The publishers stated that in view of the wide publication which would be given thereby to each author and the fact that members would be recom mended should any of the subscribers to the bureau require an attorney in Ireland the article should be written without charge. Members enquired whether by so doing they would contravene any of the Society's regulations. The Council directed that members should be informed that the contribution of an article and the publication of members' names on the terms suggested would be in contravention of regulation 5 of the Solicitors Act, 1954 (Profes sional Practice, Conduct and Discipline) Regulations, 1955, which makes it a professional offence for a solicitor to do in connection with his practice anything which can reasonably be regarded as calculated unfairly to attract business. Registry of Deeds The Council have made representations to the Department of Justice in favour of the introduction of legislation modernising the practice of the registry of deeds. The suggested reforms include the discontinuance of the use of parchment for memorials. This has already been done in Northern Ireland. The Council propose to press this matter as far as possible. Legal Textbooks An advertisement appears in this issue of the Gazette inviting proposals from members of both branches of the profession for the publication of textbooks suitable for students. The notice has been sent to the Bar Library, the Court Offices, and University Law Schools and the Council wish

to obtain the names of those who would be interested in supplying the manuscript for suitable works either alone or in collaboration. The Council will consider proposals from Court officials for the production of suitable manuals or textbooks on practice. The field to be covered is stated in the advertisement and the matter is still at the explanatory stage. The Council intend to pursue it actively. AS OTHERS SEE US A number of members probably listened to a recent broadcast discussion on Radio Eireann in " Saturday Forum " on topic " The Cost of Con veyancing ". For the benefit of those who did not, the following summary is given. The discussion took place between a solicitor, a barrister and a chartered accountant, all of whom were anonymous, with a compere in the chair. The solicitor who opened the discussion, which was in the form of questions by the compere and answers from the participants, took as a typical case a sale of a house in Dublin for £2,500. He said that the total cost to the purchaser if the sale were by public auction would be approximately £275, being 5% to the auctioneer, 3% stamp duty and roughly, 3% to the solicitor. On a sale by private treaty the solicitors' fees and stamp duty would be approximately £150 and if a substantial part of the purchase price was raised on the security of a mortgage from a Building Society about £25 additional fees would be payable in respect of the loan. He said that the revenue returns show that about two million pounds is collected annually in the form of stamp duty on the transfer of property. The compere asked whether the lawyers' fees are high in relation to the work performed and it was pointed out by the barrister member that the present commission scale fee is about twice the commission fee fixed in 1880 whereas expenses have risen by about 500%. The chartered accountant took the view that the lawyer's fees are unduly high and that the stamp duties are excessive especially in the case of small property. He suggested a graduated scale of stamp duties and pointed out that in England no stamp duty is charged where property is sold for less than £3,000. He went on to point out that on a sale by private treaty the total legal fees on a sale for £2,500, would amount to £150, being £75 to each solicitor and asked why it is necessary to employ two solicitors. It was pointed out in reply that a conflict of interest may arise either in the preparation of the contract for sale or in the deduction and investigation of title. The barrister member of the panel expressed the view that the fees charged by an auctioneer on a sale by public auction are altogether out of pro portion to the value of the services rendered and