The Gazette 1993

GAZETTE

N E W S

Council Approves Submissions

I at the time when in the opinion of the Society the loss arose. The Council decided to adjourn the debate to the October meeting to allow further consideration of discussion papers that had been prepared by a number of members of the Council and a memorandum that had been prepared by the Registrar of Solicitors. Northern Ireland Council Meeting The President of the Society reported that he and the Junior Vice-President had attended the August meeting of the Council of the Law Society of Northern Ireland. The President said that he appreciated the excellent relationship between the two Law Societies and was confident that it would continue. Donal E. Browne R.I.P. The Council observed a minute's silence in memory of the late Donal Browne, President of the Kerry Law Society and State Solicitor for Kerry and the sympathy of the members of the Council was conveyed to his family and colleagues. • | President's Message (Continued from page 291) our submission we pointed out that Lord Chancellor Mackay, announcing that the courts in England and Wales would be established as an executive agency from 1995 had remarked that . . an agency will not affect the judiciary, either in its independent role and functions or in its relations with the administration". Our proposal, similarly, would not in any way interfere with the judicial independence of judges, or how they deal with cases, but rather would relieve the judiciary of unnecessary, administrative burdens.

submission. Members of the Council welcomed the fact that the Bar Council had agreed to support the submission, believing that a joint approach by the two practising professions would add weight to the proposals outlined in it. Submission on Proposal to cap Personal Injuries Awards The Chairman of the Litigation,; Committee reported that the Committee had endorsed a submission prepared by the Director General criticising the proposals by the Minister of State for Commerce and Technology, Seamus Brennan TD, to limit compensation awards for pain and suffering in personal injuries cases. The Council agreed that the submission should be despatched to Government as soon as possible and that the details of the submission should be released to the press. Costs The Chairman of the Costs Committee reported that the Ready Reckoner that had been sent out to each practice to assist practitioners in establishing how much it cost per hour to run their offices had been very well received by the profession and there had been much positive feedback. In turn it had led to increased interest in the regional seminars on costs being organised around the country and the Chairman reported that nearly every Bar Association had organised a seminar on the topic. Compensation Fund The Council approved a schedule of payments of claims on the Compensation Fund. The Council debated further the policy aspects concerning the exercise of the Society's discretion under section 21 (5) (a) of the Solicitors Act, 1960 under which the Society may decide to make or refuse to make a grant in a case in which the solicitor did not have a Practising Certificate in force

Pilot Civil Legal Aid Project At the meeting of the Council on 17 September last, the Council was updated on developments at a meeting with the officials of the Department of Equality and Law Reform on the pilot project on Civil Legal Aid. The President reported that, following unsatisfactory discussions on the level of fees being offered, the Department had written to practitioners inviting them to participate in the pilot scheme on the basis of a fee of £75.00 per case for the first four cases, reducing to £65.00 for each case thereafter. The Law Society had responded immediately advising solicitors not to participate in the Scheme on the basis of the inadequate fees offered. The Council fully endorsed this approach and observed that the project itself was inadequate and had not been properly thought out. The Council was informed that there were indications that some members of the profession had agreed to participate in the Scheme but that it was likely that some of them may have responded before they had received the President's letter. Many Council members believed that, in time, those practitioners would become aware of the impracticality of the pilot scheme and that it would be uneconomic to do the work. Council members accepted that the Law Society could not prevent members of the profession from participating in the Scheme; it was a matter for each individual solicitor to decide. Submission on Courts Service The Council approved the text of a joint submission with the Bar Council to the Minister for Justice concerning the future of the courts service which had been prepared on the initiative of the Society. The Council was informed that the Bar Council was in agreement with the submission except for the recommendation concerning the appointment of part-time judges. It was agreed that the different views of the two bodies would be set out in the

Raymond Monahan President

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