The Gazette 1992

N W E s Solicitors Vow to Protect Client Confidentiality

GAZETTE

SEPTEMBER 1992

Frank Gleeson (Thurles) and Denis Larkin (Mullingar) were among the speakers who emphasised that it was extremely important for the Society to mount an effective public relations campaign against the provisions in the Bill as support from the public would be essential. A view that the Law Society should be prepared to support - financially if necessary - any solicitor who came into conflict with the Revenue Commissioners for failing to comply with the legislation, was put forward by a number of speakers including Dan Gormley (Monaghan) and Ciaran Keyes (Galway). Above all, it was the issue of client confidentiality which most concerned those attending the meeting. This was addressed by many speakers, including Robert Pierse (Listowel) who said that the legislation threatened the very core of the integrity and confidentiality of the solicitor/client relationship. Confidentiality was a central tenet of the profession and compliance with the legislation would render members Press Statement Following the unanimous support expressed at the Special General Meeting, the Thxation Committee of the Law Society issued a statement to the media outlining the terms of the resolution and making the following points: "Pa rt VII of the Finance Act, 1992 introduces mandatory reporting obligations on persons carrying on a business, profession or trade. It means that every solicitor will have to provide detailed information on a wide range of transactions including: (a) All payments in excess of £500 in aggregate in any one year made of the profession "unpaid informers", he declared.

on a solicitor's behalf or on behalf of a client of that solicitor to any provider of services. (b) Any monies in excess of £500 in aggregate received by a solicitor on behalf of others which may or may not be taxable (including compensation payments).

A Special General Meeting held in the Law Society on Wednesday, 22 July, 1992 last, attended by some 300 solicitors, resolved not to co-operate with Part VII of the Finance Act, 1992 because the legislation erodes the essential confidentiality of the solicitor/client relationship, is bad for commerce, interferes with the public's right to obtain independent legal advice and is unworkable. The following resolution was unanimously passed at the meeting: "Th a t, with a view to preserving the independence of the legal profession and preventing it becoming an instrument of Government, this Special General Meeting opposes totally the provisions of Part VII of the Finance Act, 1992. The view of the members of the solicitors' profession is that a policy of total non co-operation in relation thereto is justified; that this view be conveyed to the Revenue Commissioners and that the Council of the Law Society take all possible steps to oppose and render inoperable the said provisions". The motion was proposed by Seamus Brennan (Kilkenny) and seconded by Peter Reilly (Tipperary). The meeting debated strategies for opposing the legislation, with many speakers, for example, Enya Egan (Castlebar), John Kelly, (Cavan), canvassing support for an immediate constitutional class action to seek to have the legislation struck down. Other speakers, amongst them, Barry St. J. Galvin, (Cork) feared that a constitutional action might be too risky a strategy, while others, including Donal Binchy, (Tipperary) favoured a constitutional action as a last resort in the event that negotiation and persuasion failed.

(c) All payments arising from any premises.

" I n objecting to these provisions, the Law Society wishes to make it clear that solicitors have no objection to making these returns on their own behalf. However, solicitors object in the strongest possible terms to the provisions which oblige them to inform the Revenue of transactions involving their clients' affairs. In the vast majority of cases the Revenue will already have received this information from clients through the self assessment system. The duplication of cost in complying with these provisions penalises the honest taxpayer. Furthermore, they erode the essential confidentiality on which the solicitor/client relationship is based. It is a constitutional right for people to obtain independent and confidential legal advice. "Members of the Law Society also believe that the provisions of Part VII of the Finance Act are anti- business. The reporting obligations will impose a huge administrative burden on all Irish businesses who will have to install systems to cope with the volume of record-keeping and form-filling required. It should be remembered that the vast majority of businesses in Ireland are small. The administrative cost of complying with the legislation will have to be passed to the consumer resulting in higher prices and the erosion of Irish competitiveness.

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