The Gazette 1983

GAZETTE

MARCH 1983

Special General Meeting of the Law Society

liaison with the Society was better in the country than in Dublin. Mr. P. Murphy said that the young solicitors who had qualified in the last five years now represented more than one-third of the profession and they had a feeling of alienation because the Law Society had done nothing for them. Pay scales were very poor, the employment situation was bad and getting worse. The general feeling among his colleagues was that the profession and, in particular, the Law Society, was doing little for the younger members. Mr. M. Farrell said that what worried him was not the running of Blackhall Place, but the Indemnity Fund and he asked if the time had come when individuals would have to take out insurance cover to protect themselves. What was happening at the moment was that people with 'good track records' were bailing out those who did not conduct themselves. The President said that the members of the Council were extremely concerned over the increasing level of expenditure and, before there was any mention of a Special General Meeting, the Policy Committee had considered all aspects of the Society's activities and the areas where it might be possible to prune expenditure. The Society was faced with the dilemma of trying to curtail expenditure and, at the same time, increase services. In its examination, the Society had come up with a number of possible approaches, which included the non-replacement of staff, an examination of cheaper methods of preparing Law School and company Formation documentation and curtailing travel expenses. The approaches also include increasing the level of investigations, with a view to ascertaining and pursuing solicitors who have not taken out Practising Certificates, to ensure that they do so and, where appropriate, to collect arrears. Contact is also to be made with those who had not already contributed towards Blackhall Place, with a view to increasing the funds from members and thereby reduce bank interest. Speaking of Blackhall Place, the President pointed out that it might be necessary to spend additional money on improving security. The Council, he continued, was prepared to circulate information to members, but no matter what precautions it took there were leaks. Consequently, the Council was against the circularisation of documentation and favoured conveying information by word of mouth. Dealing with comments about the Law School, the President said that up to now the arrangement was experimental. Now that a fixed situation had been established, the Education Committee intended to review the entire scheme. It would also take a fresh look at an approach to the Higher Education Authority for funding. So far as numbers were concerned, the Society was indicted for limiting the number entering the profession. It found itself on a 'no win' situation. The Society was now in discussion with representatives of the students and those who 35

The Special General Meeting of the Law Society called 'to consider what economies and/or re-organisation (if any) are expedient to help lighten the financial burden of members of our Society without impairing its proper functioning in the best interests of the profession was held in Blackhall Place, Dublin 7, on 27th January, 1983. The President welcomed both the purpose of the meeting and the attendance, which he noted was larger (83) than at the Annual General Meeting. Mr. T. C. G. O'Mahony circulated notes regarding the Society and said that the demand by the Society on members had increased by £176 between 1982 and 1983. He queried some expenditure, given that a deficit had been forecast, and referred to various heads of expenditure which he had taken into account in arriving at a total of £1,150,430. If the Council had undertaken economies, could the membership be informed of the results? He feared that a bureaucratic monster had been created and asked if consultants should be called in, or whether a separate Committee of non-Council members should be constituted to review the situation. Mr. J. Sheehan supported Mr. O'Mahony. Mr. T. Jackson and some other speakers considered that the way to deal with queries put by Mr. O'Mahony was to raise them at the Annual General Meeting. Mr. A. Curneen said that members were concerned with the Compensation Fund and hoped that they could be given some guarantee that demands would not be unlimited. There was a fear amongst the more established practitioners of younger members setting up in practice on their own. The general view, he added, was that the Law Society was doing a good job, but he suggested that the profession's interests would not be well looked after until the Society formed a Trade Union. He also inquired why the Society did not leave the training of solicitors to the Universities, but accepted that the Society might have to exert control over the entry to the profession. Mr. Q. Crivon endorsed Mr. Cumeen's remarks and said that he was worried about future years, rather than the current year. As he saw it, the Society was being maintained by a paying profession of about 2,500 people, with about 500 unemployed or otherwise not in a position to pay the Society. He would like to see a breakdown of the costs of running Blackhall Place and the salaries and expenses in relation to the services provided by individuals. It might then be possible to say where economies could be made. Mr. M. Browne felt that there was an absence of reporting back to Bar Associations. In his own Bar Association, (Mayo), they had the attendance of the Director General twice a year, and the President visited them to fill them in fully as to what was.going on. The situation was a complex one, and money wduld have to be provided to give a service. Mr. Crivon said it appeared that the Bar Association