The Gazette 1995

Dear Editor

socio-economic breakdown of full time university students show that 69% come from a farming, professional, employer, salaried or non-manual background. Therefore, it is reasonable to infer that those lawyers who have a degree are very likely to have come from an advantaged background. This should not be taken to mean that lawyers have no understanding of the problems facing those living in poverty. The legal profession has a long history of providing pro bono work to those unable to afford private services. However, for those in disadvantaged communities, there is a real difficulty in approaching lawyers due to this difference in educational and social background. ; Dear Editor i | I first entered General Practice in 1980 and over the past 15 years I have had personal experience of an increasing demand for medicolegal reports from solicitors. My annual number of court attendances has increased. This year, for the first time, I was requested by two firms of solicitors, to attend the High Court, to give evidence at two separate cases, on the same morning. Medicolegal work now constitutes a significant portion of my workload. My j experience is not unique and would be | replicated by many of my peers in general practice. Apart from the increased workload, I am struck by the number of solicitors | now requesting a specialist referral for j the purpose of compiling a | medicolegal report. My experience | would suggest that this is a growing practice. These requests are based on | the assumption that a specialist report I will carry more weight in court. i I believe the assumptions underlying these requests are open to question. Sabha Greene Administrator Free Legal Advice Centres

The request for specialist referral j stems from poor understanding of the respective role of the generalist and j the specialist. It is assumed that ! because of higher degrees and hospital , based practice, that his evidence is of a superior quality. There is no disputing the specialist's depth of knowledge of his speciality, however they lack the broad general view of the generalist. We live in an era of subspecialisation within the specialities. It has been said, with | some justification, that we now have specialists who know more and more I about less and less. The specialist will certainly have very complete knowledge about a patient when the | I individual is under his care in the I hospital setting. However surely the Í professional providing continuous j whole person care is in a better position to provide information of ' interest to the legal profession. | The General Practitioner will usually j have a pre-accident history of the patient and can make informed j comments about changes to the ; individual's health and lifestyle over a ; long time scale. The specialist lacks i this unique perspective. These comments are not intended as a ; criticism of my hospital based i colleagues but rather an attempt to i clarify their different perspective. It is | not an attempt to state that on type of doctor is better than another but simply important to state that General Practice is recognised by the Medical Council, as an independent speciality in its own Í right with its own post-graduate training programme and post-graduate I qualifications. For many years now General Practice has attracted the brightest and most able of our medical graduates. 1 I would clearly differentiate between a report obtained from a specialist involved in treating a patient and a report requested from a specialist to 327 to illustrate our differing but complimentary roles. It is also

I refer to the article entitled "Civil Legal Aid Bill, 1995", published on page 193 of your July '95 issue of the Gazette and written by Ms. Sabha Green. The article contains the appaling statement that "Lawyers are from a different educational and social background than their potential clients". The context of Legal Aid in which it was used does not in any way mitigate its ugliness. Neither is it accurate. i I will not labour the point by argument; the statement speaks for itself. Dear Editor The article entitled "Civil Legal Aid Bill 1995" was intended, in part, as an outline of the barriers facing those living in poverty who are seeking access to justice. FLAC believes that it is only in this way that we can set about finding solutions to ensure equal access for all. I This, then, was the context in which j the point was made. It was a statement j based on fact and empirical evidence. ' It was in no way intended to be read as j pejorative. While, accepting that not all lawyers are from a different educational and | social background as those clients who j are reliant on legal aid services, FLAC believes that it is accurate to say that | this is the case most of the time. Firstly, the majority of lawyers have obtained a university degree, while the majority of those living in poverty have not. This is | a clear difference in the level of education. Secondly, the most recent j complete figures (1993 Source - Higher Education Authority) for the Yours sincerely Eamonn Gavin A Reply to Eamonn Gavin