The Gazette 1985

GAZETTE

JULY/AUGUST 1985

diligently and conscientiously at his job, and suddenly find that all his personal assets are at total risk as a result of an error made by another partner or assistant. We are therefore actively investigating the possibility of having the Law changed, so that Solicitors will in future be entitled to the benefit of Limited Liability. 2. Apart from these broader issues, this Society is constantly working to try and eliminate those problems which cause frustration to the public and to the Solicitors' profession. At present, one of the major problems in this area is delays in Government Offices, largely caused by the shortage of staff. The Land Registry is a case in point, where delays have been increasing over the last few years, despite the best efforts of those involved. We asked the Minister to make a special case, so as to enable more people to be employed in the Land Registry, because of the particular situation that exists there, whereby the Land Registry must be self-financing by Statute. We have therefore advised the Minister that this would be an ideal opportunity of providing a more efficient service to the public and the profession, while at the same time, giving increased employment — at no cost to the State. The Companies Office is another area where delays have greatly i nc r e a s ed, and c au s ed huge inconvenience to the public and to the Solicitors' profession. However, it is in the process of being computerised at the moment, and we hope these delays will be reduced before long. In addition, we

matters. Some matters which your Society are presently involved in, are as follows:— 1. Professional Indemnity Insurance. As you are no doubt aware, we have a Compensation Fund, which protects the public in that if a Solicitor is guilty of fraud or misappropriation of funds the client will be fully compensated. The same does not apply at present where loss has been caused to a client as a result of a Solicitor's negligence. Many Solicitors already have policies of Professional Indemnity Insurance to cover such claims, but others do not. We are at present working towards making this type of Insurance compulsory, and are in negotiation with Insurance Brokers about this. However, the whole Insurance market, and particularly the Professional Indemnity Insurance market, is in some degree of chaos world wide. You have probably seen recently that Judgment was awarded for negligence against a 29 partner firm of Accountants in Australia, in the sum of approxi- mately £100,000,000. If the Appeal against this Judgment fails, then each and every one of those partners faces Bankruptcy and all as a result of one error made in one job about 8 years ago. At present, a trader can set up shop through a Limited Company, and if trade goes badly, may put that Company into liquidation in a year's time. In such cases, his personal assets, such as his house, are safe except to the extent that he has given personal guarantees. By contrast, a Solicitor may be a partner in a firm for 30 or 40 years, and work

Pictured at the Presentation of Parchments Ceremony are newly qualified solicitors (1. to r.) Aideen O'Reilly, Dublin; Deirdre Durcan, Dublin; Richard Devereux, Wexford; Pauline O'Donovan, Dublin; and Nollaig Cleary, Dublin. 205