Irish Competition Authority Calls For Shake-Up Of Legal Services Sector

by Jason Gorringe, for LawAndTax-News.com, London

01 March 2005

In a controversial report released on Thursday, Ireland's Competition Authority recommended a number of reforms for the Republic's legal services sector, similar in style to those put forward by Sir David Clementi in relation to the UK's legal profession.

In a move likely to face strong opposition from both the Law Society and the Bar Council, the Competition Authority report recommended the creation of a Legal Services Commission in order to resolve the "conflict of interest" raised by the industry bodies' dual roles as regulators and representative bodies.

Under the proposed models put forward in the report, the Commission would either act as a sole regulator, or as a body chiefly responsible for the oversight of the existing regulators.

The other key proposals put forward by the Authority were for the:

• Abolition of the educational monopolies enjoyed by Kings Inns and the Law Society in respect of professional legal education;
• Removal or amendment of the rule requiring barristers to be sole traders;
• Either the broadening of the Bar Council’s Direct Professional Access Scheme, or the abolition of the prohibition on direct access of the public to barristers’ services;
• Amendment of the restriction on the provision of conveyancing services by persons other than solicitors firms and practising solicitors;
• Removal of the restriction on partnerships between barristers and solicitors;
• Removal of the restriction on lawyers holding the titles of barrister and solicitor simultaneously;
• Abolition of the rule which prevents barristers engaging in occupations inconsistent with full-time practice at the Bar;
• Abolition of the rule which confines membership of the Law Library to full-time practising barristers;
• Removal of all restrictions on barrister and solicitor advertising, or of all except specified minimum restrictions;
• Creation of new criteria for allowing entry of lawyers qualified outside the EU;
• Establishment of a transparent scheme for the awarding of the title of Senior Counsel, together with the opening up of the title to solicitors;
• Provision by barristers of fee information to clients in advance;
• Creation of a regime whereby persons other than solicitors are allowed to become Taxing Masters, together with changes in the methods of taxation of costs; and
• Abolition of the requirement on certain applicants to acquire the Diploma in Legal Education before sitting the King’s Inns entrance examination.

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