The Gazette 1995

DECEMBER 1995

GAZETTE

Sol icitors Confidential Helpline In September 1993 it started to become clear that with the ever increasing strains both professional and personal imposed upon the last ten years has become increasingly more complex and stressful.

Nationwide RTE 1 TV - the issue of numbers On the RTE TV programme Nationwide on 3 November there was a special feature on the problem of numbers in the solicitors profession. The feature explored the reality of making a living in the profession and pointed out that there are too many solicitors, too few jobs and for the present law graduates there are great difficulties infinding an apprenticeship. The Director General of the Law Society was interviewed and said "we would say that the rate of growth in the profession is such that it can't be sustained in terms of providing a livelihood for people who are seeking to enter it. We are trying to redress it in two ways, firstly by means of information such as this, to ask people to check out the realities of what faces them before they commit themselves to seeking a life in the profession and, secondly, we are seeking to amend our education course to see if we can provide students with other skills and knowledge which they could apply in other areas of the economy outside of private practice, because there are simply no jobs there." Various law students outlined the problem of getting into the legal profession. Barbara Cotter, recruitment partner with A & L Goodbody was also interviewed and said "I think it is very difficult for them to get apprenticeships. I would see it from the side of receiving applications every year for apprenticeships and this firm alone would receive 300 applications every year and that would be for about eight or ten places, so you would, after interviewing, offer apprenticeships to about eight or ten law students." Ken Murphy concluded that "the law seems to obviously have an extraordinary attraction which is difficult to rationalise, and we can only conclude that people are choosing to seek to enter the profession on the basis of illusions, both about what the opportunities are and what the actual lifestyle could provide for them." The case of Alison Bloomer and others v Incorporated LawSociety of Ireland, Ireland and the Attorney General was reported in the LawReports of the Irish Times on Monday November 6, 1995. Catherine Dolan •

It is interesting to note that a similar service is operated within the United Kingdom. In the UK there are only approximately 100 solicitor volunteer helpers for a profession covering 35,000. The Organising Committee would like to thank all the practitioners who have assisted by becoming consultants, the Law Society for their financial support of the Scheme and Mary Rigney the Secretary of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association for her organisational skills in helping the Scheme run so smoothly. Any practitioner who is in need of assistance for any reason should ring 284 8484. Steering committee: Michael Irvine, Elma Lynch, Hugh O'Neill, Rory O'Donnell, Daire Murphy.

profession a service to help solicitors deal with the pressures of a modern practice was required. The group of solicitors spearheaded by members of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association examined various methods by which such a service could be set up. organised as a Confidential Telephone Service to provide a listening point for solicitors' problems fears and worries. Anybody wishing to use the Helpline should dial Dublin 01 - 284 8484. On dialling this number the solicitor will obtain the names of two practitioners together with their telephone number either of whom he or she can ring to discuss any particular problem. The practitioners who have kindly volunteered to man the Helpline operate a one week term duty each year and therefore two different solicitors man the service each week. The Confidential Helpline is entirely independent from the Law Society and any matter discussed on the Helpline is done so on an entirely confidential basis. If the solicitor seeking help wishes to consult more formally with the duty solicitors or with any other practitioner then any such arrangement is subject to the normal solicitor/client relationship. To date the Helpline has received over 400 calls from members of the profession. These calls have concerned problems of a professional, personal and financial nature. It appears that many of the difficulties for practitioners stem from solicitors being either over worked with their existing case load or finding that their income has diminished substantially in recent years. It certainly appears that the running of a practice in the In April 1994 the Solicitors Confidential Helpline became operational. The Helpline was

Sol icitors Confidential Helpline JUST CALL 2 8 4 8 4 8 4

ENGLISH AGENTS: Agency work undertaken for Irish Solicitors in both litigation and non-contentious matters - including legal aid. Fearon & Co., Solicitors, Westminster House, 12 The Broadway, Woking, Surrey GU21 5AU.

Tel: 0044 - 1483 - 726272 Fax: 0044 - 1483 - 725807

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