The Gazette 1978

GAZETrE

APRIL 1978

misconduct or excessive drinking and the role of time costing in the maintaining of standards bctwccn partners. On the question qf· New Partners contribution, Mr. Semple said that this should be proportionate· to his share in profits and that he should be givcn five to ten years to pay ~ up. • Mr. Semple's paper was very well receivcd and provided considerable food for thought among younger members of the profession who aspire to partnership. As the gencral Seminar lectl.lres tended to give information of a sort useful to Solicitors who wanted to make more mo.ney, presumably only the more wordly of the profession attended the re– cent Young Solicitors' meeting in Killarney. The Seminar did not. therefore. benefit from the presence of those noble and generous souls who usually attend these functions in the quest for further legal t.-nowledge to benefit their clients. If those worthy and upstanding members who stayed away think to read here a scurrilous account of the dark doings of their less altruistic brethern, they are mistaken. \Ve low commercial creatures who featured on the Killarney scene will not pander to the moral superiority of those who remained soberly at home by confessing our evil ways. The following, therefore, is a severely expurgated version of the true, story of \Vhat \Vent On. U\Vho says they are a self-interested crowd?" An interruption comes from my side "\Vhat about that daring legal warrior who. when he wandered forth to view the lakes of Killarney (during a break in lectures) chanced to pass where a young maiden had fallen over a treacherous precipice and leapt to her rescue. flung the fainting female over his shoulder and vaunted agJ.in to the cliO" top where he deposited his fair burden". A statue depicting the noble rescuer "ith loftily averted gaze rec,eiving the blessing of her aged parents is to be erected 'on the spot by the Law Society Public Relations Committee. At the Seminar itself too, a confessorial air permeated among the ranks of the sinners in attendance who, in tum, beat their breasts before Charles ~leredith and told their tales of gUilt to ease their consciences. The talk on the moral issues of legal practice provoked much earnest discussion amongst those present. Naturally, the people found in the b:u- during the course of this lecture were those whose deeds were above reproach and who had no need of improvement as conscientious beings. . On Saturday evening, of course, there was the customary dinner and dance. This was generally agreed to be most. enjoyable. It was probably rendered more so than usual by the absence of those honourable beings referred to at paragraph 1 above. The award for the b~st dressed man this time goes to the law Society President, ~1r. Joe Dundon. who was ..oery nattily turned out in a, black velvet number which set ofT to perfection the chains of office glistening on the manly chest. This function was immediately followed by a recital on the piano forte delivered by Mr. Paddy Daly with the Solicitors' Choral Society in vague accompaniment. And on Sunday morning we all trailed in to the lecture hall with empty pockets hoping to be told how we could earn enough money to pay for all this carousing. Did .... ou Know That: Under the Petty Sessions (Ireland), Amendment Act 1861. Committal for Drunkenness for a period not less than Forty cight hours could be to a local although not a District or ccrtified Bridewell.

nowadays, except in small firms of one or two partners payments were not made for goodwill; the important lhing for any firm is to acquire competent new partners who can do the work eO·cctivcly. As regards otTIce premises smallcr firms tend to own their own premises and larger firms tend to lease. Whcre premises are o\\Cncd, problems may arise on the retirai or death of one of the partners as regards continuing financing. As regards ~ltings. equipment, furniture and the library it was Important to have the best that -can be commercially justified. Work in progress was an area in which there is normally considerable waste and may amount to as much as six months turnover at any time. Unpaid accounts are another problem which should be fairly and properly Controlled. A monthly reminder system is important and may reduce the size of the problem but a firm should be' prepared, if necessary, to take its clients to Court in this regard. Cash advances to clients is very much a matter of firm policy. Mr. Semple thought that this was easier to Control in a large commercial practice other than a small personal one. After considering the above matters, Mr. Semple discussed how the load be shared amongst the partners. It ~as important to consider how the business was financed In practice. The preferable method would be an obligation to provide finance in proportion to profit sharing. A reasonable age spread of the partners was important so as not to impose too hea,"}, a burden when partners must be paid. It was also important to consider how long a respective partner is to be allowed to make his required capital contribution. Also worthy of consideration was the question of obtaining life insurance on the lhoes of Partners to guard the firm against the untimely death of a Partner. 4. Retirement. tvlr. Semple said that it was highly desirable 'that !etirement arrangements for all panners were known well In advance so that appropriate financial arrangements could be made and that a retiring partner has the best chance of being psychologically prepared for retirement. He was in favour of a compulsory retirement age both to rnake way for younger men and to allow older men a period of relaxed retirement. He recommended a prOvision in a partnership agreement whereby .each partner is required to finance a pension of between one third and one half of his current earnings and also to provide for adequate life insurance at a level of two or ~hree times current earnings. Permanent health insurance In the event of any partner becoming unable to work for prolonged period was also advisable. s. Expansion ond amaJgam8tio~. . Finally Mr. Semple dealt with the matter of expansion ~ and amalgamation. Mr. Semple felt that' amalgamation Could be helpful in the providing of a better service to Clients especially in so far as they needed specialisation. An amalgamation may also help if the organisation of a firm has fallen down in any way. In any event amalgamation,. to w'ork, requires much hard work, patience, tolerance and even good humour. It is also most Important on an amalgamation to make sure that there a~e regular means of reaching decisions and exchanging Views on all difiiculties likely to arise. After a break for coO"ce, the matters raised in discussions and questions included the calculation of a ~apital contribution for a new partner, life insurancc, the notty problem of dealing with a partner guilty of gross 66