The Gazette 1988

GAZETTE

SEPTEMBER 1988

The Costs Commi t t ee Work of the Commi t t ee The Costs Commi t t ee under the chairmanship of Larry Cullen f r om Wicklow, a former President of the Society, rose f r om the ashes of " T he Remuneration of the Pro- fession Commi t t ee ". In fact this in its turn was hived off from the Court Offices and Costs Com- mittee as it is described in the Regulations of the Council. The Costs Commi t t ee generally keeps an eye on the way members of the Society are paid for their services. The subject of solicitors' costs borders on the ba f f l i ng theologies of the East. It is such a heavily regulated area that the profession of Legal Cost Accoun- tants has arisen to cope w i th its complexity. The Commi t t ee monitors the following areas w i th a view to ensuring that the Society has the ma x i mum input into all areas affecting solicitors' costs: a. The various Cou r t s' Rules Committees b. Legislation c. R e c omme n d a t i o ns of t he Council on costs d. Court cases affecting costs e. Activities of other professional bodies wh i ch affect solicitors' bills of costs. Cost Drawing — the Costs Booklet Clearly the area of costs is a complex one requiring a knowledge of inter-related subjects. The Costs Committee considered this problem several years ago and decided to a t t empt to put together a suitable document on the subject of costs wh i ch would steer a reasonable line between a definitive annotated text and a practical day to day guide to the art. There were differing views w i t h in the Commi t t ee and outside it as to how this project should be approached and it was not an easy task for the various Chairmen and Committees who have handled the problem over the last number of years to come up w i t h a solution wh i ch wou ld please everybody. However, the Guide to Professional Remuneration has now been pro- duced and is available to the profession in loose leaf form, at a cost of £15 all in, wh i ch makes it one of the most cost effective documen ts in any solicitor's office.

were different and recommending the appropriate examination or test along the lines of the aptitude test envisaged in the E.C. Directive. A m o n g t he o t h er t o p i cs discussed were :- Skills Training, where the need for increasing emphasis was noted. Con t i nu i ng Legal Education, where the English delegates reported that their mandatory scheme was wo r k i ng well, Aptitude Testing, where reports on the experiments being carried out in Dublin and Belfast were presented and, Joint Training w i th the Bar and Educa t i on and T r a i n i ng for Change. It was foreseen that all training courses wou ld have 'to introduce mo d u l es on c o m p u t e rs and c o m p u t e r i s a t i o n; t he use of computers w i t h in the education and training programmes wou ld have to be kept in view constantly. While not addressed at the meeting it should be mentioned that Mr. Maurice Curran, Senior Vice President, in an after-dinner address to the delegates, referred to the Society's desire to improve the emp l oyment prospects of law graduates and to upgrade the pre- paration of solicitors for practice by the proposed requirement to pos- sess either expertise in business methods or fluency in a continental European language. • Don Binchy Chairman, Education Commi t t ee SYS OFFICERS Annual General Meeting of Society of Young Solicitors Friday 15th July, 1988 The following are the officers duly elected at that Annual General Meeting: Chairman: Terence McCrann Vice-Chairman: Katherine Delahunt Secretary: Colin Sainsbury Treasurer: James McCou rt Committee: Michael Quintan,

The first addition to the Booklet is expected to issue in September and will carry: a. The Precedents, b. The up-dated Supreme Court decisions on interest on costs, c. A step by step guide on how to deal w i t h a motion to review in the Circuit Court. Only those who have purchased the Booklet and completed the re- g i s t r a t i on f o r ms w i ll r e c e i ve up-dates. The p r o f es s i on is ea r nes t ly requested to f o rwa rd their com- ments on the Guide in due course and any constructive comments on f o rmat or content will be consider- ed by the Costs Committee. Continuing Problems The Commi t t ee is currently con- sidering, along w i th the relevant authorities, the following items: a. Appendix W to the Superior Court Rules, b. An up-date to the Superior Court Rules, c. An increase in scheduled items in the Circuit Court, d. Preparation of precedent bills in the Circuit Court routine cases, costs of registering j udgment mortgages, motions for judg- ment, costs of garnishee, equit- able execution and appoint- ment of a receiver. With the proposed increase in the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court the Commi t t ee has in hand the pub- lication of a full set of Circuit Court costs precedents wh i ch will also be available in due course on floppy disc. The Commi t t ee can only deal w i t h routine cases. It cannot a t t empt to advise on complicated costs issues. This area is currently the preserve of the Legal Cost Accountants who wo rk closely w i t h and are of immense help to the Committee. • ISLE OF MAN Messrs Samuel McCleery Registered Legal Practitioners in the Isle of Man, of Derbyhaven House, Derbyhaven, will be pleased to accept instructions by their resident partner Mr. S. McCleery from Irish Solicitors in the formation and administration of resident and non-resident Isle of Man Companies. ktoh Ofice: London Oflco: IOM Oflco: 26, South Frederick St , Tel: 01-831 7761 Tel: 0624 822210 Dublin 2. Tel. 01-760780 Telex: 297100 Telex: 628285 Fax: 01 764037 Fax: 01 831 7485 Fax: 0624-823799

Norman Spendlove, Mary Hayes, Jennifer Blunden, Miriam Reynolds, Kevin O'Donnell, Brian O'Connor, Caroline Crowley.

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