The Gazette 1967/71

and recover assets in Malaya, less than £200 in value. The Malayan lawyers ultimately presented a bill for about £700 in Irish currency which the Dublin solicitors refused to pay. Both matters were submitted to the Council for rulings. The Society on a report from a committee stated as follows: 1. As a matter of professional etiquette an Irish solicitor who instructs a foreign agent is personally responsible for that agent's proper fees unless he expressly disclaims personal liability when giving the instructions. 2. In the absence of stipulation to the contrary the scale is regulated by the rules in force in the country where the work is done. 2. Where there is no procedure for taxation of costs in the foreign country the matter might be submitted to the local Law Society, first obtaining the client's instructions, or alternatively the foreign lawyer might be allowed to obtain a ruling from the foreign courts. In such events the liability for fees would be a matter of private international law, and would presumably be regulated by the proper law of the contract. The parties could consequently be left to their legal remedies. 4. As a matter of professional etiquette disputes of this kind should be settled if possible by agreement. Conflict of interest. A solicitor employed as an assistant in the office of a State solicitor in the country enquired whether he might appear for a defendant (a) where a summons was issued by the Gardai for the area in which the principal was State solicitor, (b) where it was issued by the Gardai for other areas. The Council having considered Opinion DR. 43 answered each question in the negative. Community Information Centre. The Council in reply to an enquiry stated that there is no professional objection to a member acting on the committee of a Community Information Centre which would provide informa tion on such matters as social welfare and health services, educational grants and scholarships, local authority loans and grants and income tax. Local authority; access to solicitor's professional stationery. The Council considered their opinion DR. 53 stating that they would not approve of an arrange ment whereby a client should have access to a solicitor's professional stationery for the purpose of sending out debt collection letters even although

the letters prepared by the client would be checked and signed by the solicitor before mailing. The Council stated that the principle of this decision applies to a wholetime solicitor for a local authority or other public body.

IN THE NEWS

Scale Fees The Legal Profession in general and the Solicitors Profession in particular have been receiving more than their usual share of attention from the Press. The mention of scale fees in the Third Programme for Economic Expansion led to a series of articles in all the National Dailies and Dublin Evening Papers which varied from the well informed and balanced articles in the Irish Times of 21st March, 1969 by Michael Viney and in the Irish Indepen dent of the same date to the less well-informed series which appeared in the Evening Herald by the Man on the Bridge. Our colleagues in Britain have also been receiv ing more than their fair share of Press coverage of which the following are some of the more interest ing examples: Sir,—In Aberdeen, we seem to have anticipated some of the conclusions of the report of the Monopolies Commission on estate agents. In this city, the pu-chasc and sale of properties is in the hands of solicitors rather than estate agents. In an effort to improve their efficiency, and to give a better service to the public, 86 per cent of the solicitors in Aberdeen joined in a cooperative venture to estab lish in a converted shop in the centre of the city a register of all properties which they had for sale or lease. The purpose of the register is to advertise the proper ties by listing full particulars in one central place—the register does not attempt to sell the properties in any way. The register is supported on an annual subscription basis by the solicitor members. It was opened by the President of the Law Society of Scotland on February 14. When it opened, it had 144 properties on its books and in its first week of operation, 1,200 people called to inspect the register. 32 properties advertised in the register were sold or leased, and another 64 properties were entered into the register. This was achieved with a part-time staff of three ladies. Yours faithfully, MALACHE F.-B. MULLIGAN Member Aberdeen Property Register Committee. 12 Golden Square, Aberdeen, Feb. 26. 3i From the Times February 28th, 1969 SALE OF PROPERTY