The Gazette 1991

DECEMBER 1991

GAZETTE

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| L LAWSOCIETY hH / r I Ir ofireland l Í H i h H I I Viewpoint Legal Controls on Solicitors Remuneration are Anti-Competitive f | / L I

Vol. 85 No. 10 December 1991

Opening Message f r om t he President Law Society Comm i t t e es 1 9 91 - 1 9 92 Equal T r ea tmen t, Married Women and Social We l f a re Rights Reflections on A t l an ta and Brussels

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Through the medium of the Competition Act, 1991, the Minister for Industry and Commerce, Mr. O'Malley, has sought to introduce new competition rules one of the objectives of which is to outlaw concerted practices or anything in the nature of price fixing arrang- ments. These new rules apply across the board and will impinge on the professions, including the legal profession. While it remains to be seen precisely what the impact of the Competition Act will be on the legal profession, one inter- pretation of it is that it will prevent Bar Associations from recommend- ing mi n imum fees to their members. It might also have implications for the Law Society itself in so far as the Society promulgates guideline rates for particular legal services. Whatever its e f f ect on legal services, the Competition Act was intended to herald a new era of compe t i t i on, impo r t i ng into domes t ic law some of the principles of the Treaty of Rome, and ensuring that there was real and genuine competition in the marketplace in the supply of goods and services. For that reason, the solicitors' profession in Ireland might well have expected that the new competition rules would have meant an end to legal controls on solicitors' remuneration. On exam- ination of the Competition Act, however, it transpires that the competition rules do not affect any statutory provisions and, conse- quently, notwithstanding the new spirit of competition that has been

ushered in by the Act, the full panoply of legal controls on solicitors remuneration are untouched. The preparation of a new Solicitors Bill afforded another opportunity to the Government to show that their c omm i tment to the ideal of compe t i t i on was all t hat it purported to be. Close examination of the Bill reveals a number of provisions that, once again, are consistent with the concept of a free market situation. There is, for example, a provision in the Bill which prohibits the Society from preventing solicitors charging less than the current scale fee for any particular service; there are provisions which will introduce competition from banks and trust corporations in the area of probate work and which will also provide competition from banks in relation to conveyancing. Moreover, there is a provision controlling the manner in which solicitor and client fees may be charged and, to cap it all, the Law Society will be given a statutory role in relation to dealing with complaints about solicitors who overcharge their clients. When one takes into accoun t, in conjunction with the foregoing, the existing system whereby a client can have a Taxing Master in the High Court or a County Registrar in the Circuit Court adjudicate on the fairness of solicitor's bill of costs one would have thought that there was an adequate infrastructure to ensure that the forces of com- petition could operate and ade- (Cont'd overleaf)

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Lawbrief

Need for Comp r ehens i ve Scheme of Civil Legal Aid 4 0 3 People & Places 4 05

Valuation for CAT and S t amp Du ty Purposes

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Book Reviews Solicitors Bill Domi na t es A GM Practice Notes

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Annual Report of t he Disciplinary Comm i t t ee

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Techno l ogy News

Professional I n f o rma t i on

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Editor:

Barbara Cahalane

Committee: Eamonn G. Hall, Chairman Maeve Hayes, Vice-Chairman John F. Buckley Gerard Griffin Elma Lynch Justin McKenna Michael O'Mahony Noel C. Ryan Eva Tobin Advertising: Seán Ó hOisín. Telephone: 305236 Fax: 307860 Printing: Turner's Printing Co. Ltd., Longford. The views expressed in this publication, save where otherwise indicated, are the views of the contributors and not necessarily the views of the Council of the Society. The appearance of an advertisement in this publication does not necessarily indicate approval by the Society for the product or service advertised. Published at Blackhall Place, Dublin 7 Tel.: 710711. Telex: 31219. Fax: 710704.

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