government waters down watchdog plan to curb rogue lawyers
12 March 2008

The Government rowed back from proposals for full independent policing of the legal profession, despite a series of scandals involving solicitors.  Instead of establishing a legal services commission with the power to regulate barristers and solicitors, the cabinet has approved a bill to set up a legal services ombudsman.

This body will have the power to oversee complaints made by members of the public about inadequate services, excessive fees and misconduct.  But the disciplinary process itself will still be controlled by the Law Society and the Bar Council of Ireland.  A Department of Justice spokesman said the proposals for a legal services commission were "still under consideration".

However, Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said he was disappointed that the bill failed to address the issue of a legal services commission. "I would have thought over the last few months that they might have given more thought to a commission and it certainly seems to fall short of what may be necessary," he said. "I think it's important the legislation is enacted before the summer. There is an undoubted high degree of disquiet, not only among the general public, but also in the profession," he said.

The legal profession has been rocked by the revelations about solicitors Michael Lynn and Thomas Byrne, who are currently being pursued in the courts by banks and other creditors. Mr Lynn is currently a fugitive and owes more than €70m, while Mr Byrne owes an estimated €30m.

Both were reported to the Law Society more than a year before their cases came to light in the High Court.  Both the Bar Council and the Law Society have expressed their support for a legal services ombudsman but are opposed to a more powerful legal services commission.

Last November, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern hit out at self-regulation in the legal profession.  He said that the Department of Justice was looking into a report from the Competition Authority, which recommended establishing an independent legal commission.

Senior counsel Edmund Honohan attacked the Law Society for "systemic failure", which he said had led to the profession being let down by a few "rogue and negligent solicitors".

But the Government's current plan is to establish the legal services ombudsman via a bill which will be published in the coming weeks.

As well as its "oversight" role in the disciplinary process, the commission is expected to have the power to hear appeals from solicitors' and barristers' disciplinary committees and to monitor entry of law graduates to the professions.  The Department of Justice said last night that it could not give a timeline for when the ombudsman would be established, although it is expected to take at least one year.

The body was first proposed by former justice minister Michael McDowell in a wide-ranging Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, but it fell by the wayside before the general election.

In the Dail, Labour deputy leader Joan Burton called for independent regulation to ensure that individuals do not incur considerable losses when the practices of their solicitor collapses.

There were more cases before the courts this week where the Law Society had difficulties regarding the activities of solicitors and the governance of their accounts, she said.

Michael Brennan Political Correspondent
www.independent.ie