The Gazette 1979

GAZETTE

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1979

be paid a proper salary. Bank clerks, Civil Servants, Insurance clerks (all straight out of school) start on better salaries than newly qualified Solicitors these days. Are they better qualified for their chosen profession than we are? . . . 4. Proper working conditions. All we can say is that if you want a person to do a job properly then do not put any obstacles in his way. A private office and Secretary will result in more work and greater efficiency. The Employee — Mr. S. O. Licitor 1. Before you prepare your letter of application and curriculum vitae, consult with a Solicitor, your parents or someone who has gone through interviews and find out how to prepare a suitable letter and curriculum vitae. Your letter of application should then be brief and to the point. It should contain detrils of apprenticeship, legal experience and any relevant extra curricular activities. 2. Before going to an interview you should make inquiries among the profession about the interviewing firm, who they are, what type of work they do, so that you can ask intelligent questions at the interview. 3. The interview. No office wants a person to work for them who has no experience. If you have had any experience as an apprentice then emphasise it at the interview. The object of the interview as far as the interviewee is concerned is to impress upon the interviewer that he is capable of filling the vacancy. Remember you do not have to have worked in a Solicitor' Office to know how to write a letter. Do not be afraid to ask questions at the interview. Ask questions about the office, the staff, the type of work the office do, the hours, holidays and so on. It pays to show an interest at the interview. 4. The Salary. This is a difficult subject to advise on. Some firms start you off on a low salary but give you a substantial increase after six months once you have proven your ability. This is a fair system provided you get the increases. We would consider a low starting salary to be in the region of £3,000. In Dublin some offices forget to increase your salary after 6 months. If your salary is not reviewed then ask your employers for a reason and if a dissatisfactory one is not forthcoming then do not be afraid to leave the office. Never feel obliged to stay at an office because they offered you your first job. If they will not pay you someone else will. The Profession 1. Proper salary guidelines should be arranged for the benefit of newly qualified Solicitors. This will enable them to know if they are being underpaid. 2. Some form of information service should be set up for newly qualified Solicitors to help them prepare for interviews and also to inform them about their future employers. A lot of young Solicitors are having to put up with bad working conditions and even worse salaries. This should not happen. It is hoped that this memo might help shart some discussions with a resulting improvement of standards all arbund — here's to hoping . . . S. O. Licitor

MEASURING DAMAGES IN BREACH OF CONTRACT CASES

Some Recent Irish decisions Mr. Justice Declan Costello

A lecture on the above subject was given to the twenty- fourth seminar of the Society of Young Solicitors held in the Talbot Hotel, Wexford, October 1978 by Mr. Justice Costello. Mr. Costello reviewed a number of cases which in the last couple of years had given rise to important develop- ments in the law relating to damages in breach of contract cases and which draw attention to the principles applicable when a legal adviser is faced with the following problems: 1. The date on which damages are to be calculated On this question the Judge referred to the case of McMahon & Johnson v Longleat Properties (Dublin) Limited (19th May 1976) in which after several unsuccessful attempts to remedy faults in a premises the Plaintiff had obtained a Bill of Quantities in November 1973 which gave particulars of the cost of making good the defect which the Plaintiff said still existed. On the case coming to hearing in 1976 the Court had held that the Plaintiff was entitled to damages in respect of certain defects which still existed in the premises calculated only in accordance with the November 1973 Bill of Quantities and not the much higher rate prevailing in 1976. The Judge quoted the judgment of Mr. Justice McMahon in that case which makes clear that the measure of damages is to complete the contract work as it was originally intended in a reasonable manner and at the earliest reasonable opportunity. In this regard Mr. Justice Costello also considered the case of Quinn & A nor. v Quality Homes & Ors. (21st November 1977) where Mr. Justice Finlay, in the case where a house was so structurally unsound as to be incapable of repair, had rejected the Defendant's argument that the Plaintiffs were under an obligation to mitigate their loss and to take reasonable steps to purchase another dwelling. The original house had been purchased in 1973 for £11,500 and its market value at the date of the trial had it being in proper condition, would have been £26,500. Mr. Justice Finlay in applying a test of reasonableness had decided that it would have been unreasonable to expect the Plaintiffs to purchase another house when they had a loan of £8,000 out- standing on the house in question and he measured their damages at the true market value of the house at the time of the action. 2. Damages for mental distress in breach of contract cases Mr. Justice Costello considered the case of Jarvis v Swan Tours Limited (1973) 1. Q.B. 233 where the Plaintiff had been awarded damages in compensation for the loss of entertainment and enjoyment on a skiing holiday which he was promised and did not get. The principle in this case was applied by Mr. Justice McMahon in Johnson's case (Supra). Mr. Justice Costello quoted that Judge as follows: "It appears to me that in principle damages may be awarded for inconvenience or

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