The Law Society is facing challenging times. Its new president, John Shaw, spoke to CAROL COULTER
THE LAW Society has been the organisation for solicitors for over 230 years, having been established in 1773. Today it has three functions: the education and training of solicitors; the regulation of the profession, and the representation of solicitors, all of whom are members of the society through their practising certificates. Most of these functions are laid down in statute in the Solicitors Acts 1954-2002.
This combination of functions has been criticised, notably by the Competition Authority, which has argued for the separation of the educational, representational and regulatory functions. The legislature however has shown little enthusiasm for changing the law, while the society itself points out that the three functions are exercised autonomously, with the law school run by T P Kennedy; the regulatory arm, now in a separate building, by John Elliott; and the representation and services end of the society under the aegis of Mary Kane.
Ken Murphy presides over all as director general and is most often the public face of the Law Society.
However, policy is laid down by the elected council of the society, and this elects a president, along with vice-presidents (they automatically succeed to the presidency over a number of years), so ultimately the president of the Law Society represents the views of the members.
At the end of last year the baton was passed from James McGuill to John Shaw, a solicitor from Mullingar and himself the third generation in his family to exercise this role in the Law Society. “We are the contact between the profession and Blackhall Place,” he said.
Asked what were the concerns of the members at the moment, he said: “I thought it would be regulation and representation, with the Legal Services Ombudsman Bill being passed, but at the moment it’s all about the recession,” he said.
While there have been anecdotes about layoffs, he said that overall his impression was that the profession had adjusted fairly well to the recession, but at a cost. “It’s bearing particularly heavily on our younger members. They have no outlet. When I qualified in 1989 a lot of my friends went to the UK and the US. That’s not there now. A number of assistant solicitors in particular are on short time or short weeks now and the fear would be that if things do not pick up they will be let go.”
Have solicitors been affected by the collapse in property values as well as the collapse in conveyancing? “A number of solicitors did buy into property,” he said. “Solicitors always bought property. Some have heavy commitments, but I would think they are a relatively small number. Most would have invested in their own homes and offices.”
Other areas of law have picked up, notably litigation. “When things go sour there will be more disputes between people, but there is also more emphasis on alternative dispute resolution.”
How representative is the Law Society of ordinary members or does it reflect the interests of the big firms?
“The big firms are much more organised internally in relation to education and things like that, so they are less reliant on Blackhall Place. But some of them are represented on the council, unlike in England, where the big firms are totally disengaged from the Law Society.”
He acknowledged that the culture in the big firms was very different to that in small, local firms. “They are much more into billable hours, though that will come in everywhere with the Haran-Millar committee [on legal costs].
“But billable hours are not the answer to everything. They can be a recipe for inefficiency. There is an argument too for fixed fees.”
The issue of fees is just one of the areas where solicitors have been criticised for lack of transparency. Should the Law Society be the regulatory body for the profession?
“We commissioned research from Joe Brosnan on the best system of regulation. He found that in most places the Law Society had some role in regulation. We have a lay majority on our complaints committee, and there is lay representation on the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal under the aegis of the High Court, so there is transparency.”
Yet some complainants remain dissatisfied, often complaining of an overemphasis on procedure. “When we are tripped up [in disciplining a solicitor], it’s usually because of a lapse in process and procedure. We can’t second guess the outcome of a case.”
The proposed Legal Services Ombudsman will essentially be another layer on top of the existing complaints and disciplinary procedures in the legal professions. Will that be adequate to meet public disquiet?
“The Legal Services Ombudsman will be a very substantial step in terms of independent oversight of the profession. We are very highly regulated. Members of the public can go straight to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.”
What about the future?
There will be greater emphasis on education and training, according to Mr Shaw. “There is a big emphasis now on reskilling. The volume of law is so great now, coming from both the Oireachtas and Europe, education is critical, particularly in the current climate when we need to diversify.”