Lawyers’ concerns to be reflected in amended draft law, says Shatter

The Government will amend parts of its far-reaching draft law on the legal profession to take account of lawyers' concerns, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has signalled.

Mr Shatter published the Legal Services Regulation Bill within six months of becoming minister in 2011, but its passage was delayed amid protests from lawyers' groups and it never reached committee stage in the Oireachtas.

Speaking at the Law Society’s annual conference at the weekend, Mr Shatter said detailed preparatory work was being done in his department, and the Bill would be brought to committee stage in mid-July.

Lawyers’ groups have complained the appointment of most of the members of the proposed new regulatory authority, complaints committee and disciplinary tribunal by the Government will undermine the independence of the legal profession.

In his address on Saturday, the Minister said amendments had been made to take account of these points. “I will, for example, be removing the need for ministerial approval for any codes of practice which the Legal Services Regulatory Authority proposes to apply to the legal profession and in other instances where, having reflected on the contents of the Bill, I see no benefit or public interest in maintaining a requirement for ministerial consent.”

Independence of appointment
Further amendments would enhance the independence of appointment of members of the regulator, and there would also be changes to the process of appointing members to the complaints committee and the Legal Practitioners' Disciplinary Tribunal.

“I also intend to bring forward an amendment to stagger the appointment of members of the authority to ensure its continuity and minimise the scope for external interference . . .” he said. “Taken together, these amendments will put to rest previously voiced concerns about the independence of the new regulatory regime . . .”