The Gazette 1976

GAZETTE

SEP T EM BER 1976

COUNCIL RECOMMENDS ABANDONMENT OF APPRENTICESHIP PREMIUMS The Council of the Society has made a strong re- commendation that members should cease charging premiums to intending apprentices. The decision was made after considerable thought had been given to the matter and after discussions at several Council Meet- ings in the context of the introduction of the new system. The Council recognises that its decision will not meet with unanimous approval, as being a departure from a tradition and practice stretching back several hundred years. The practice of charging premiums originated at a time when the only qualification neces- sary for admission to practice as what would now be called a Solicitor was the service by an apprentice un- der articles of apprenticship to a practising solicitor for a fixed period of years and then receiving a cer- tificate from a solicitor of his being a person qualified to practise as a solicitor. It is clear that at that time the duty imposed on the Master was a fairly onerous one but perhaps in those more leisurely days a Solicitor had sufficient time available to him to devote to the education of his apprentice. The introduction of exam- inations as a replacement for the final certificate of a Master as a pre-requisite for admission to practise did not immediately diminish the effect of the apprentice- ship system. Indeed it was not until the re-organisation of the Law Schools in the National University of Ire- land onto a full time basis in the 1950's that the ap- prenticeship system finally showed signs of strain. It is perhaps ironic to note that the improvement of the academic side of education led to difficulties on the practical side but the committment of hours required of under-graduates under the new system made atten- dance at a Master's Office at least during the under- graduate years of little use. (This breakdown of the apprenticeship system was one of the spurs to various suggestions made for reforming the education system for apprentices which ultimately led to the introduction of the new system). Another effect of this development was to cause some Masters to search their consciences to see whether in fact they were justified in charging an ap- prentice a premium, the consideration for which was presumably the instructing of the apprentice in the arts and crafts of the Solicitor's profession when, in practice, the apprentice was not able to attend regularly in his Master's Office until he had acquired his law degree. Many Masters abandoned the practice of charg- ing premiums and the practice appeared to be on the wane. At least one local association made a rule fixing the premium at a reasonably modest figure and arranging for the re-fund of the premium to the apprentice by instalments during the period of his apprenticeship. During the last few months before the introduction of the new education system on the 1st of October 1975 the Council was concerned to receive reports of very substantial premiums being sought by Masters includ- ing several reported cases of four figure sums being asked. The Council accordingly found it diffi- cult to escape the conclusion that such sums were being asked not because they were felt to be reasonable premiums for the instruction which the Master proposed to give the apprentice but

because of the scarcity of prospective Masters. In view of the long standing tradition of premiums and the arrangement that already existed in certain local bar assosiations the Council decided not to recommend any alteration in the existing system but to recom- mend strongly that premiums be not charged to ap- prentices after the 1st of October 1975 and reference to this decision was made in the speech of the Presi- dent at the half yearly general meeting of the society in Westport in May of 1975. It is not difficult to discern the reasoning behind the Council's disapproval of apprenticeship premiums in the new system since it represents a radical change from the old position. The Master will no longer find himself presented with a novice fresh from school but with university graduates, the majority of whom will be law graduates and once the society's new professional course is in operation the apprentice presenting himself to his Master for service in the Master's Office will also have undergone a sophisticated course of training in the practical aspects of a Solicitor's work. In these circumstances it would be difficult to justify the charg- ing by a Master of any premium to the apprentice. Indeed, in other jurisdictions where similar training systems exist, it is the experience that the law firms seek out prospective apprentices during the appren- tice's university studies and pay salaries to the appren- tices while they are serving under their articles. It would indeed be difficult in present circumstances to justify the charging of a premium for apprentice- ship to a person who has completed his studies in third level education. So far as the Society is aware there is no other profession in Ireland whose members maintain such a practice. It would not appear to be in the interest of any profession to debar any suitable candidate for entry on purely financial grounds and this is particularly the case in our profession where a vast majority of the members are in private practice and are dependant, for the successful practice of their professions, on the continuing influx of competent prac- titioners into the profession not merely as a means of supplying themselves with assistants and future part- ners but of insuring that the colleagues with whom they have to deal are equally well supplied. Accordingly the Council is optimistic that the pro- fession will recognise the wisdom of the Council's re- commendation and that the practice of charging pre- miums will die out promptly.

LAW EXAMINATIONS

The Education Committee has decided that students wi ll not be permitted in future to enter for the 3rd Law Examination until they have completed their 2nd Law Examination. J 179