What is wrong with Irish democracy when politicians, have to get outside help to explain the obvious!
Root and branch reforms are badly needed.

One thing is for sure. Leaving aside the excessively high hourly rates for lawyers, now being severely driven down by the Taxing Masters of the High Court, the still archaic procedures of the Courts and of Tribunals have been the largest variable in the grossly excessive level of legal costs charged to people, businesses and to the tax payer of Ireland.

I would defend however the ordinary Joe Bloggs solicitor and barrister who do not work in the big law firms or in the upper ranks of the Law Library. The fruits of the practice of law are not evenly spread and the vast majority of lawyers now struggle, just like most of the rest of us, to survive. As with the rest of society solicitors firms are going out of practice because they can’t meet insurance and other overhead and reduced dead for services. Barristers are leaving the Law Library for the commercial sector and this is as it should be. No sector in society should be immune from market forces.

I will cause controversy with this observation but very few lawyers in private practice, likely none at all, have the pensions and other benefits enjoyed by the upper echelons of the public sector and trades union. Getting a judicial appointment is now the real plum.

As for the State tendering for legal services, most law firms are quoting below cost just to get the work and in he hope that it will lead to more work.

The gravy train is well and truly over for lawyers, except for the delicious clover of NAMA work, but that is a special skill and only the top legal talent in the country can do such rarified work. The rest scrabble to survive and in doing so are pretty much the same as most of the rest of us.

I will shed no tears though. Lawyers only have themselves to blame for the perceptions which have arisen and in all areas of life an entire occupation or profession will be judged by the standards of the fat cats at the top. That’s just life and many have lived well.

In fact, some lawyers lived so well in the past that they got deeply immersed in big property deals which have gone very badly wrong. Many are trying to hold on so as to avail of the new Personal Insolvency Bill when it is enacted. Bankruptcy looms for many of the former semi fat cats because they made so really bad investments.

“… notably the prohibition of the ‘solicitor’s lien’ (by which solicitors may hold a client’s file pending payment of fee).”

A moronic suggestion, it amounts to a licence to not pay for services rendered. Too many people in this country want something for nothing as is without making it worse.

I see no mention of the fact that we have fewer judges per head of population than almost any other country in the EU, leading to long, drawn-out proceedings, leading in turn to escalating legal costs.

No mention either of the fact that we are ranked 63rd in the world for enforceability of contracts: that’s disgraceful. We badly need better enforcement of court orders which ensure compliance with contracts; you would see a huge drop off in legal fees as a result. That will probably require some sort of cure for our society’s deeply ingrained infantilism, though.

Legal fees are incredibly high for very little, €120 for a solr to stand up on free legal aid to say we plea guilty Judge to a public order charge, it should be 3 chances of free legal aid after that u sail your own boat, enough of the molly coddling of thugs by the state

I’m not 100% on this, but if I’m not mistaken the state spent half a billion on lawyers in 2011. Half a billion! WTF?
With reports this week of a cut of a 1,000 guards for a year to save ?25 million you would have to wonder what kind of a basket case country we live in.
The elite always look after themselves.

It’s always commented on how many Td’s were teachers. However did ye notice how many are lawyers? And even more importantly its a very high percentage of ministers. Cozy cartel

One thing that always amazed me as I drove up into Dublin as was made to make room for the flashing blue lights of a convoy of a prison escort was why couldn’t the judge drive to the prison to hold court instead of the prisoner being transported to Dublin at large expense?

Solicitors,bankers,politicians and developers are the golden circle of this country,there not going to upset the apple cart to much with each other

Monopolies do not need to change in times of recession, unlike most other economic goods or services.

The entire legal system revolves around money.

In the hillbilly (sorry, District) Court, a donation to some charity is enough to have all charges , particularly those for motoring offences, dismissed. The judge makes him/herself part to a lie!

Its beyond a joke the stranglehold Kings Inns has on the profession. Its a throwback to a bygone era. That’s where the problem lies.

high legal costs are an economic barrier to justice. We have a public funded court system that can in practice, only be accessed through very privately controlled interest groups.

What needs to be done is inform people there are other ways of handling things. i.e. Mediation with the new bill coming in this year hopefully more people will realise that you don’t need to go through the financial hardship and stress of going through the courts. With most things Mediation can help and is far less expensive, once the mediation is completed legal council can get the agreement made into a court order where appropriate so everyone is reasonably happy with the outcome not just legal council!

Disclaimer I run an online or teleconferencing Mediation service

Lochlann
http://www.helplink.ie

Lawyers fees are likely to double after the recent change to inheritance arrangements by the Law Society of Ireland. Why isn’t the Minister having the final say on this? The Law Society appear to have introduced this before the new reform bill was passed… This in effect risks undermining competitiveness measures under the new reform bill.