The Gazette 1979

GAZETTE

JULY-AUGUST

1979

win against the inevitable rising tide of paper. And even if he succeeds, he certainly will not feel a boost in his morale while interviewing clients in a dirty, pokey, dimly lit room with just enough space for one dingy guest's chair. Matters will not improve on the day when a family of five call to execute a transfer in consideration of natural love and affection. I find it difficult to complain about salary levels be- cause of the absence of any really accurate information about them. In Dublin, the average starting salary for a newly qualified Solicitor appears still to be in the region of £2,500 to £3,000 per annum. Outside Dublin, there seems to be a wider range. However, the base figure appears to be £3,000 per annum but in some cases it may be up to £4,500 per annum. The substantial difference between Dublin and the rest of the country would seem to be caused mainly by market forces. Dublin has always lured a disproportionate number of Solicitors in relation to the national population. Dublin City and county with almost 30% of the population of the country has 45% of the total number of Solicitors, the figure now being about 1,000. And yet younger Solicitors (even those coming from the country) continue to flock to practice in the Dublin area and here I am prepared to concede that younger members are the over supply which depresses the Dublin salary levels. What firm of Solicitors in Dublin will take on a young Solicitor at £4,500 per annum when 20 more will settle for a little more than half that? The contrary is of course true in small towns where diffi- culties are frequently experienced in recruiting assistants, principally, no doubt as a result of the fallacy that Dublin and the larger urban centres jealously harbour all of the worthwhile social life in the country and that Island- bridge marks the beginning of obscurity and darkness. Again the message to the younger profession is the same as before —make for the smaller rural practice in whcih you will get a very wide range of experience and, more than likely, higher pay. On the question of whether or not salaries are low, three criteria may be applied. The first is simply whether or not the young Solicitor brings in enough money in costs to justify his wage. More senior practitioners, seem to take a rather short term view of this issue. They fail to regard the payment of a decent wage to an assistant as an investment in the future, which, of course, it is, if it is the object of the firm to avoid a situation in which assistants are coming and going every six or nine months. The second is whether newly qualified Solicitors earn more than other newly qualified professionals. Again we are faced with a shortage of accurate information. How- ever, almost any comparison between the starting salaries of Solicitors and Accountants will reveal that Solicitors salaries fall considerably behind. It is likely that it is not until a Solicitor is between three and five years qualified that his slaary comes into line with those of other pro- fessionals. The final criterion involves this question of "gross" and "net" pay and incentives generally. Naturally enough, many principals merely draw so much money each week as will finance their normal cost of living and do not bother to convert this weekly amount into an annual salary. So, I feel, there is a general failure among employers to appreciate that the £100 or £150 drawn each week or drawings over a stated period averaging such amounts constitute a very considerable salary indeed. These same principles are unaware (out of

thoughtlessness more than anything else) that £3,000 per annum after the appropriate deductions for Income Tax and Social Welfare comes to less than £45 a week for a single person. It is very difficult to justify wage packets of this order for any considerable length of time given that "take-home pay" for totally unskilled employment can frequently stand at much higher levels. Finally, on the question of salary, the profession seems to be lacking in inventiveness when it comes to incentives and the proper treatment of expenses. Few assistant Solicitors are able to negotiate arrangements whereby they get a certain pro- portion of the costs derived from business they themselves attract to the office. Even more surprising is the fact that in country areas where considerable expense may be incurred in travelling to and from Courts, few assistants seem to be recompensed on a mileage basis I think that the whole area of justifiable expenses could be re- examined with mutual advantage to both the assistant and the firm. I think we are all agreed now that our methods of training intending Solicitors have in the past, been far from satisfactory and that there have been at least two major flaws. The first was that apprenticeship was seldom served in a meaningful way owing to the fact that up to 1975 it was possible to serve only a nominal apprentice- ship during the course of a university degree. The second was that the Society's own courses of lectures in practical subjects such as Conveyancing, Litigation and Probate and Administration have proved to be inadequate for the newly qualified Solicitor emerging on to the platform of practice, the main inadequacy arising out of the teaching methods rather than deficiencies on the part of the lectures or materials disseminated. The result has been that many newly qualified Solicitors have commenced practice with only a little practical experience behind them and without the benefit of having taken effective courses in professional practice. Thankfully this picture has changed with the introduction of the new criteria for apprenticeship and the Society's new intensive legal practice courses, and even the strongest of critics of other aspects of the new system will unite in agreement with the greatest of its advocates that the "workshop" and "learning by doing" approach to professional legal train- ing is far superior to methods previously used. Never- theless, just as the fledgling Solicitor under the old system has lacked self confidence and has asked questions of his superiors so will his counterpart under the new system and here a little soul searching is necessary. Can you, as boss, honestly say that you are reasonably approachable to a young assistant who might want an answer to a problem which to you might seem insignificant? Quite clearly, no one is expected to remain a model of patience and understanding when an. enthusiastic assistant interrupts an important consultation for the purposes of obtaining your advice. However, having accepted that learning the skills of any profession or trade is continually an on going experience, would you say that your staff are inhibited either by your attitude or manner, from asking you a question about any aspect or practice? Maybe you have forgotten your own lack of self confidence when starting out ten, twenty or thirty years ago to such an extent that you now expect your assistant to be an instant genius in an age when law and procedures are con- siderably more complex than when you were starting. These matters may appear trivial but are important to the

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