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The Law Society was formally incorporated by royal charter obtained from [[Queen Victoria]] on 5 April 1852, under the name of “the Incorporated Society of Attorneys and Solicitors of Ireland”. There were several precursors to the Law Society itself: In 1774, the “Society of Attorneys” was established while in 1791, “The Law Club of Ireland”, a society for solicitors about which little is now known, was founded. Later, in 1830 “The Law Society of Ireland” was established, restyling itself the “Society of Attorneys and Solicitors” in 1841. It was to be the immediate predecessor to the present day Law Society.
The Law Society was formally incorporated by royal charter obtained from [[Queen Victoria]] on 5 April 1852, under the name of “the Incorporated Society of Attorneys and Solicitors of Ireland”. There were several precursors to the Law Society itself: In 1774, the “Society of Attorneys” was established while in 1791, “The Law Club of Ireland”, a society for solicitors about which little is now known, was founded. Later, in 1830 “The Law Society of Ireland” was established, restyling itself the “Society of Attorneys and Solicitors” in 1841. It was to be the immediate predecessor to the present day Law Society.


[[Image:Scale_of_justice.png‎ |thumb|left|Scales of Justice]]
[[Image:Dublinlawsociety.jpg|thumb|left|Law Society building after a snowstorm. November 2010]]


The professions of attorney and solicitor were fused under the Supreme Court of Judicature (Ireland) Act, 1877. As a consequence, the Law Society was granted a supplemental charter, again by Queen Victoria on 14 December 1888 under which the Law Society was styled the "Incorporated Law Society of Ireland".
The professions of attorney and solicitor were fused under the Supreme Court of Judicature (Ireland) Act, 1877. As a consequence, the Law Society was granted a supplemental charter, again by Queen Victoria on 14 December 1888 under which the Law Society was styled the "Incorporated Law Society of Ireland".

Revision as of 13:53, 6 March 2011

The Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin

The Law Society of Ireland (in Irish: Dlí-Chumann na hÉireann) is the educational, representative and regulatory body of the solicitors' profession in the Republic of Ireland. As of 2009, the Law Society had over twelve thousand members, all of whom are solicitors.

Establishment

The Law Society was formally incorporated by royal charter obtained from Queen Victoria on 5 April 1852, under the name of “the Incorporated Society of Attorneys and Solicitors of Ireland”. There were several precursors to the Law Society itself: In 1774, the “Society of Attorneys” was established while in 1791, “The Law Club of Ireland”, a society for solicitors about which little is now known, was founded. Later, in 1830 “The Law Society of Ireland” was established, restyling itself the “Society of Attorneys and Solicitors” in 1841. It was to be the immediate predecessor to the present day Law Society.

Law Society building after a snowstorm. November 2010

The professions of attorney and solicitor were fused under the Supreme Court of Judicature (Ireland) Act, 1877. As a consequence, the Law Society was granted a supplemental charter, again by Queen Victoria on 14 December 1888 under which the Law Society was styled the "Incorporated Law Society of Ireland".

The current statutory basis for the Law Society is set out in the Solicitors Acts 1954 - 2002. In 1994, the Law Society’s name was changed once more, this time the word “Incorporated” (or in Irish: “Corpraithe”) being dropped from its title.

Its building in Dublin's Blackhall Place dates from 1773, and formerly housed the Blue Coat School.[1]

Recent Developments

A special committee of the Law Society said it was utterly appalled at reports that some solicitors have double-charged for work done for victims of institutional abuse.[2]

The senior lawyer who oversees the preparation of cases in the High Court before they go to trial has said solicitors have been let down by the Law Society. The Master of the High Court Edmund Honohan SC said no spinning by the society could disguise the systemic failure of self-regulation. He said most solicitors must now realise they had been let down, not just by a few rogue negligent solicitors, but by the Law Society itself.[3]

A website launched in February 2006 by the Victims of the Legal Profession, www.Rate-Your-Solicitor.com [1] has become an increasingly popular place for people to vent their frustrations with solicitors.[4]

Four Courts

In January 2009 confidence in the legal profession was at an all-time low following a series of scandals. The most high-profile cases were those of Michael Lynn and Thomas Byrne, who were both struck off by the President of the High Court. The two Dublin solicitors, who were fined €2million and €1million respectively, may have cost financial institutions more than €100 million. The Law Society’s director general, Ken Murphy, described the cases as a "major crisis for the society and the profession".[5]

The Law Society’s compensation fund was almost halved in value because of the number of claims against solicitors and the Law Society’s President John D Shaw said "I’d have to concede that the profession has suffered significant professional damage, but the vast majority of solicitors do their best, and I think they have been very let down by the few".[6]

The Law Society had to pay the €100,000 costs of a Supreme Court appeal it brought against two Dublin solicitors who admitted operating secret accounts to evade tax in May 2009.[7]

Michael Murray, the state solicitor for Limerick City and brother of the Chief Justice, said there was "concern within certain official circles that a tiny minority of solicitors are harvesting information on operational matters and passing them on to the criminal fraternity and effectively acting as criminal intelligence officers for criminal gangs,"[8][9]

The Law Society said solicitors "will be treated very severely" who fail to pay the Revenue Commissioners millions of euro in stamp duty that they have received from clients. On over 155 occasions in the first five months of 2009 the Law Society had to step in and compensate the Revenue and admitted "the unravelling of the building boom means we are likely to see quite a few more cases" which they take "very seriously". [10]

The failure by the legal profession to implement proposals for electronic property conveyancing made possible tens of millions of euro in mortgage fraud and one executive at a specialist lender said that "because of this joke of Law Society self-regulation, conveyancing costs will now increase and hurt consumers".[11]

In December 2009, the Law Society had to prop up the fund which provides the majority of solicitors with insurance cover against negilence claims.[12]

Structure

48 Solicitors on Council

The governing body of the Law Society is its Council. It comprises both elected and nominated members, all of whom are solicitors. Over the years the Council has established a range of Committees to which it delegates certain of its statutory functions.

The Council may comprise not more than forty-eight persons. Of its membership, between 21 and 31 must be elected from among the Law Society’s members. A delegate from each of the four provinces of Ireland must also be chosen. Up to five extraordinary members may be appointed from each of the Councils of the Southern Law Association and the Law Society of Northern Ireland while three may be appointed from the Council of the Dublin Solicitors' Bar Association.

As of 2009, the Law Society’s Council comprised the maximum permitted (i.e. forty-eight members). Each year the Council selects one of its number to be the President of the Law Society.



List of Presidents since 1842

  • 1842-1848 Josias Dunne
  • 1848-1860 William Goddard
  • 1860-1876 Sir Richard J. T. Orpen
  • 1876 Edward Reeves and William Roche
  • 1877 Sir William Findlater
  • 1878 William Read
  • 1879 Henry A. Dillon
  • 1880 John H. Nunn
  • 1881 Henry J. P. West
  • 1882 Henrt T. Dix
  • 1883 William D'Alton
  • 1884 John Galloway
  • 1885 Henry L. Keily
  • 1886 Sir Patrick Maxwell
  • 1887 Richard S. Reeves
  • 1888 John MacSheehy
  • 1889 W. Burroughs Stanley
  • 1890 Francis R. M. Crozier
  • 1891 Thomas C. Franks
  • 1892 Edward Fitgerald
  • 1893 John Alexander French
  • 1894 Trevor T. L. Overend
  • 1895 Sir William Fry
  • 1896 Sir William Findlater
  • 1897 William Henry Dunne
  • 1898 Hugh Stuart Moore
  • 1899 Richard S. Reeves
  • 1900 James Goff and Sir George Roche
  • 1901 Cherles A. Stanuell
  • 1902 Sir Augustine F. Baker
  • 1903 Robert Keating Clay and Edward D. MacLaughlin
  • 1904 Edward D. MacLaughlin
  • 1905 Sir John P. Lynch
  • 1906 William S. Heyes
  • 1907 George H. Lyster
  • 1908 William J. Shannon
  • 1909 Richard A. MacNamara
  • 1910 Frederick W. Meredith
  • 1911 Gerald Byrne
  • 1912 James Henry
  • 1913 Henry J. Sinnott
  • 1914 Arthur E. Bradley
  • 1915 Charles St George Orpen
  • 1916 John W. Richards
  • 1917 William V. Seddall
  • 1918 Richard Blair White
  • 1919 Robert G. Warren
  • 1920 Charles G. Gamble
  • 1921 Patrick J. Brady
  • 1922 Joseph E. MacDermott
  • 1923 James Moore
  • 1924 Arthur H. S. Orpen
  • 1925 Thomas G. Quirke
  • 1926 William T. Sheridan
  • 1927 Basil Thompson
  • 1928 Edward H. Burne
  • 1929 Peter Seales
  • 1930 Alexander D. Orr
  • 1931 Laurence J. Ryan
  • 1932 W. Gorden Bradley
  • 1933 James J. Lynch
  • 1934 Charles Laverty
  • 1935 Michael E. Knight
  • 1936 John J. Duggan
  • 1937 Thomas W. Delaney
  • 1938 Daniel J. Reilly
  • 1939 Henry P. Mayne
  • 1940 J. Travers Wolfe
  • 1941 G. Acheson Overend
  • 1942 John B. Hamill
  • 1943 Louis E. O'Dea
  • 1944 Parick F. O'Reilly
  • 1945 Daniel O'Connell
  • 1946 H. St J. Blake
  • 1947 Sean O hUadhaigh
  • 1948 Patrick R. Boyd
  • 1949 William J. Norman
  • 1950 Roger Green
  • 1951 Arthur Cox
  • 1952 James R. Quirke
  • 1953 Joseph Barrett
  • 1954 Thomas A. O'Reilly
  • 1955 Dermot P. Shaw
  • 1956 Nial S. Gaffney
  • 1957 John Carrigan
  • 1958 John R. Halpin
  • 1959 John J. Nash
  • 1960 Ralph J. Walker
  • 1961 George G. Overend
  • 1962 Francis J. Lanigan
  • 1963 Desmond J. Collins
  • 1964 John Maher
  • 1965 Robert McD. Taylor
  • 1966 Patrick O'Donnell TD
  • 1967 Parick Noonan
  • 1968 Eunan McCarran
  • 1969 James R. C. Green
  • 1970 Brendan A. McGrath
  • 1971 James W. O'Donovan
  • 1972 Thomas V. O'Connor
  • 1973 Peter D. M. Prentice
  • 1974 William A. Osbourne
  • 1975 Patrick G. Moore
  • 1976 Bruce St John Blake
  • 1977 Josseph L. Dundon
  • 1978 Gerald Hickey
  • 1979 Walter Beatty
  • 1980 Moya Quinlan
  • 1981 Brendan W. Allen
  • 1982 Michael P. Houlihan
  • 1983 Frank O'Donnell
  • 1984 Anthony E. Collins
  • 1985 Laurence Cullun
  • 1986 David R. Pigot
  • 1987 Thomas D. Shaw
  • 1988 Maurice R. Curran
  • 1989 Ernest Margetson
  • 1990 Donal G. Binchy
  • 1991 Adrian P. Bourke
  • 1992 Raymond T. Monahan
  • 1993 Michael V. O'Mahony
  • 1994 Patrick A. Glynn
  • 1995 Andrew F. Smyth
  • 1996 Francis D. Daly
  • 1997 Laurence K. Shields
  • 1998 Patrick O'Connor
  • 1999 Anthony H. Ensor
  • 2000 Ward McEllin
  • 2001 Elma Lynch
  • 2002 Geraldine M. Clarke
  • 2003 Gerard F. Griffin
  • 2004 Gerard F. Griffin
  • 2005 Michael Irvine
  • 2006 Philip M. Joyce
  • 2007 James MacGuill
  • 2008 John D. Shaw
  • 2009 Gerard Doherty
  • 2010 John E. Costello
  • Source: The Law Society of Ireland 1852-2002: Portrait of a Profession By Eamonn G. Hall and Daire Hogan: Appendice 2, Pages 226-227, ISBN 1851826955

List of Auditors of the Solicitors' Apprentices Debating Society since 1884

  • 1884 William M. Byrne
  • 1885 Edward N. Greer
  • 1886 Robert Dickie
  • 1887 Guy B. Pilkington
  • 1888 John Robert O'Connell
  • 1889 William A. FitzHenry
  • 1890 William H. Geoghegan
  • 1891 Joseph J. Dudley
  • 1892 John H. Walsh
  • 1893 Peter L. Macardle
  • 1894 James Tench
  • 1895 Edward P. O'Flanagn
  • 1896 Edwin N. Edwards
  • 1897 William Ireland Good
  • 1898 Robert N. Keohler
  • 1899 John J. McDonald
  • 1900 Patrick J. Materson
  • 1901 Henry A. Drennan
  • 1902 James O'Brien
  • 1903 Patrick Donnelly
  • 1904 Laurence J. O'Neill
  • 1905 James J. Hayden
  • 1906 James C.B. Proctor
  • 1907 Henry Shannon
  • 1908 Enda B. Healy
  • 1909 Charles B.W. Boyle
  • 1910 John J. Molloy
  • 1911 Thomas Arkins
  • 1912 Ambrose Davoren and Christopher Crozier Shaw
  • 1913 Arthur Cox
  • 1914 Conor A. Maguire and John O'Hanrahan
  • 1915 John Foley
  • 1916 Patrick J. Ruttledge
  • 1917 Barry I. Sullivan
  • 1918 William Devoy
  • 1919 James J. Stack
  • 1920 Michael J.C. Keane
  • 1921 Helena M. Early
  • 1922 Edward A. Cleary
  • 1923 John S. O'Connor
  • 1924 Patrick J. Loftus
  • 1925 Patrick Byrne
  • 1926 John J. Nash
  • 1927 Gerald M. Counahan
  • 1928 Herman Good
  • 1929 Daniel J. O'Connor
  • 1930 Eric A. Plunket
  • 1931 Patrick J. O'Brien
  • 1932 Charles J. Holohan
  • 1933 William Walsh
  • 1934 James F.G. Kent
  • 1935 Francis A. Gibney
  • 1936 Andrew G. Sheedy
  • 1937 Peter L. Gibson
  • 1938 Anthony J.F. Hussey
  • 1939 Michael J. Egan
  • 1940 Dominic M. Dowling
  • 1941 Patrick P. O'Sullivan
  • 1942 Louis V. Nolan
  • 1943 Patick J. Brennan
  • 1944 Frank Martin
  • 1945 Sean M. Flanagan
  • 1946 George J. Colley
  • 1947 John Edmund Doyle
  • 1948 James P. Woods
  • 1949 Edmund S. Doyle
  • 1950 Richard Ryan
  • 1951 Patrick C. Kilroy
  • 1952 Charles Hennessy
  • 1953 Walter Beaty
  • 1954 Desmond P.H. Windle
  • 1955 John F. Buckley
  • 1956 T. Michael Williams
  • 1957 Laurence F. Branigan
  • 1958 Richard M. Neville
  • 1959 Michael J. Hogan
  • 1960 Bruce St. John Blake
  • 1961 Thomas C. Smyth
  • 1962 Dermot Loftus
  • 1963 Michael V. O'Mahony
  • 1964 Thomas W. Enright
  • 1965 Fergus E. Armstong
  • 1966 James F. O'Higgins
  • 1967 Donough H. O'Connor
  • 1968 Michael C. Larkin
  • 1969 Michael S. Roche
  • 1970 Elizabeth A. Ryan
  • 1971 Laurence K. Shields
  • 1972 Bryan C. Sheridan
  • 1973 Michael Staines
  • 1974 Brian P. O'Rielly
  • 1975 Niall Sheridan
  • 1976 Ciaran A. O'Mara
  • 1977 Michael D. Murphy
  • 1978 Liam T. Cosgrave
  • 1979 John J. Reid
  • 1980 Richard Grogan
  • 1981 Laurence W. Ennis
  • 1982 William F. Holohan
  • 1983 Aislinn M. O'Farrell
  • 1984 Terence McCrann
  • 1985 Francis Hacket
  • 1986 Brian J. O'Connor
  • 1987 Gavin Buckley
  • 1988 Paul D. White
  • 1989 Eileen A. Roberts
  • 1990 Joseph N. Kelly
  • 1991 Edward T. O'Connor
  • 1992 Paula E. Murphy
  • 1993 Philippa M. Howley
  • 1994 Fergal P. Brennan
  • 1995 Paul A. Murphy
  • 1996 Matthew McCabe
  • 1997 John Cahir
  • 1998 Louise Gallagher
  • 1999 Keith Walsh
  • 2000 Claire O'Regan
  • 2001 Martin Hayes
  • 2002
  • 2003
  • 2004
  • 2005
  • 2006
  • 2007
  • 2008
  • 2009
  • 2010
  • Source: The Law Society of Ireland 1852-2002: Portrait of a Profession By Eamonn G. Hall and Daire Hogan: Appendice 3, Pages 228-229 ISBN 1851826955

Functions

The Law Society has a range of statutory and non-statutory functions. Its statutory functions under the Solicitors Acts relate to the education and admission of persons to the profession; regulatory and disciplinary matters and protection of solicitors’ clients. The Law Society’s non-statutory functions relate to the representation and provision of services to its members and protecting the public interest.

References

  1. ^ http://www.irish-architecture.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/northcity/blackhall_place/blackhall.html
  2. ^ http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/1013/redress.html
  3. ^ http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1206/lawsociety.html
  4. ^ https://www.tribune.ie/archive/article/2006/oct/01/irish-solicitors-under-fire-from-online-rating-sit/
  5. ^ http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=NEWS+FEATURES-qqqm=nav-qqqid=38589-qqqx=1.asp
  6. ^ http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=IRELAND-qqqm=news-qqqid=38603-qqqx=1.asp
  7. ^ http://www.independent.ie/national-news/courts/law-society-gets-8364100000-appeal-bill-1753175.html
  8. ^ http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/claim-some-solicitors-acting-as-gang-intelligence-officers-95730.html
  9. ^ http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2009/aug/09/law-society-investigating-limerick-solicitor/
  10. ^ http://www.independent.ie/national-news/solicitors-default-on-stamp-duty-bills-1806551.html
  11. ^ https://www.tribune.ie/article/2007/oct/28/e-conveyancing-may-have-prevented-multimillion-mor/
  12. ^ http://www.independent.ie/national-news/watchdog-bails-out-lawyers-insurance-scheme-1975167.html

53°20′56″N 6°16′58″W / 53.348754°N 6.282724°W / 53.348754; -6.282724

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