Complaints about abuse survivors being double-charged for legal costs have resulted in 11 firms of solicitors being referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
The tribunal has extensive powers of sanction against solicitors found guilty of misconduct.
The complaints centre on the controversy that some solicitors deducted substantial costs from the Residential Institutions Redress Board awards.
This was despite the fact that the board had promised to cover legal costs.
The referrals could be the first of many as other complaints made on the Law Society's special helpline for redress board applicants are being processed and survivors representatives are still being urged to come forward.
In an interim report, the Law Society revealed that 11 firms of solicitors, in relation to 20 individual complaints, had been referred to the disciplinary tribunal for inquiry in relation to their conduct in redress board cases.
When a complaint is made, it is first considered by the society's complaints committee.
In each of the complaints referred to the disciplinary tribunal, the committee has required the solicitor to make a refund of fees to their client with interest and without delay.
Many refunds have already been made. The amounts by which abuse survivors were allegedly double-charged could be as high as € 10,000.
The report also showed that since October 14th when the helpline opened, 145 complaints had been received by last Thursday.
Of the complaints received, 69 have already been dealt with, of which 20 were referred to the disciplinary tribunal.
Among the remaining cases, 27 are currently being considered and 49 are scheduled to be heard. The balance of those received to date will be considered by December 15th.
Ken Murphy, Law Society director general, stressed that the report was interim and the helpline was still open.
"The helpline remains open and it is ongoing. We are urging members of the survivors' representative groups to assist us by coming forward if they have complaints," he said.
He said the disciplinary tribunal was independent of the Law Society and was the final forum. He estimated that the hearings could be heard in early 2006 and the process concluded around February or March.
If the solicitors were found to be guilty of misconduct their names and the rulings would be published, he said.
Normally, tribunal hearings are in public but under the redress board legislation claimants are guaranteed confidentiality so an application for privacy could be made.
Tribunal orders are as enforceable as High Court orders.