Irish Bar Council And Law Society Angered By Merger Proposals

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

09 April 2004

Ireland's Bar Council and Law Society have announced their opposition to proposals which would merge the two main branches of the legal profession in Ireland.

Irish solicitors and barristers were shocked by the plan, which was put forward as a possibility by the head of the Competition Authority, John Fingleton in February, as part of a review of the Republic's legal services sector.

Speaking to the Legal Week news service, Bar Council director, Jerry Carroll observed that:

"This is a delicate situation because there is a clear distinction between the Bar and the Law Society in terms of the service they both provide."

He continued:

"From the point of view of the administration of justice, and from a purely economic stance, the distinction between the two bodies is justified."

The Competition Authority, meanwhile, confirmed that it was "looking to see if there is a real distinction between the practice of the professions," adding that: "The fusion of the two has been suggested."

A final report on the matter is expected by the end of the year.

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