PARCHMENT

PARCHMENT 

THE DUBLIN SOLICITORS MAGAZINE ISSUE NO. 38 WINTER 2008

2 PARCHMENT


Presidents Message 

Colleagues, I’m enormously honoured to be 

your president for the year ahead and indeed 

humbled by the proud office I am privileged 

to hold. 

This Association has played a special part in 

my professional career epitomising for me all 

that is good and honourable in our 

profession. By it’s core principles of integrity, 

the espousing of best practice, education, and 

collegiality it has continuously had a very 

positive affect on my career. 

What has made the DSBA such a vibrant and 

potent bar association of 4000 plus members 

is the fact that at its essence we are a purely 

voluntary. Made up of decent hard working 

people like you who put the hours in at their 

own offices but then give unstintingly to the 

Association either on Council itself or on one 

or other of the various committees. 

Of course, not everyone would have the time 

or inclination to put in that sort of effort but 

what you put in you get back in spades by 

the commoraderie, problem sharing and 

general looking out for our colleagues who 

need a steer or advice .It‘s the assuredness 

that the DSBA is there to help. Not, of course, 

that we have all the answers- far from it but 

chances are we’ll know whoever the 

particular guru is or where to ferret the 

information and we’ll do our damnest to 

assist. 

Our strength comes from never taking our 

members for granted, keeping in touch, the 

imparting of information, encouraging 

dialogue with each other either through 

seminars or social inter-action. Because as we 

all know a colleague whom you know on the 

other side of a transaction makes for a 

smoother running file and more enjoyable 

experience. 

I am also conscious that for a myriad of 

reasons, not least the slow down in some 

4 PARCHMENT 

aspects of work, that opportunities to come across colleagues may not 

present as frequently as before .While this is to be regretted there are 

always plenty of opportunities to rub shoulders either professionally 

or socially-just check our web site or open the latest mail from Maura 

and head along to your friends in the DSBA and be sure to hang 

around for a coffee or refreshments afterwards.! 

None of us are immune from the mayhem and turmoil swirling 

around us. This affects our clients and is impacting on both our cost 

base and, of course our bottom line. For many of us merely to survive 

and get through it all will require prudent management, careful 

planning and an understanding banker!. I know of colleagues let go or 

put on part time. Others more fortunate have been re-deployed. 

Elsewhere, in this edition John Geary has an earthy and up to the 

minute account as to how the down turn is affecting our practices. We 

wish we had the answers but we are all in it together from the largest 

firms to the one man firms like mine and please God we’ll manage to 

pull through but it may need a reshaping of our practices to diversify 

or embrace emerging areas of law just as we have done in the past and 

the persuit of as much efficiencies in our offices as we can manage. 

Already, in my first month as president it’s been my privilege to meet 

with colleagues in our sister bar associations in Mayo, Belfast and also 

Bristol, Manchester, and Liverpool. These are associations with whom 

we have always had the closest of links and we learn much from each 

other. My highlight to date has undoubtedly been a very special legal 

gathering in which my Council colleagues and I hosted a dinner for 

the entire High Court and Dublin based Circuit judiciary and we were 

honoured by their attendance as well as the 40 or so other colleagues 

drawn primarily from the litigation departments of the larger offices 

in the City. I don’t think any such event of that magnitude has ever 

occurred before and it was an inspiring occasion for us all. To judge 

from what the judiciary were kind enough to say they, also 

appreciated and valued the occasion in the context of an opportunity 

for dialogue with an essential part of the legal system. Ultimately 

though for us it was all about breaking down barriers, actual or 

illusionary and the overwhelming impression left with me and my 

colleagues is that we, for the most part have an extraordinary group of 

level headed, fair minded judiciary – no longer in the ivory towers but 

grounded, for the most part to realty. At the tail end of my predecessor 

Michael Quinlan’s year we also hosted a dinner for Judge Malone and 

her District Court colleagues. 

The DSBA is delighted to announce a partnership project with the Irish 

Cancer Society during 2009. We hope to learn from them and their 

many activities so that we can in turn get to know a little more about 

cancer . We look forward to working with our membership in making 

a real and lasting difference in the lives of all of those living with 

cancer. This will be achieved not alone by our support for their fund 

raising activities but also by the raising of awareness of the disease in 

it’s various forms. 

To conclude, my first address to you , I wanted also to thank the 

managing partners of all the large firms who gave of their time to meet 

with me and my vice president John O’Malley over recent weeks. The 

DSBA greatly appreciate and value the support of the large offices 

which we view as indicative that notwithstanding your size and, 

perhaps the international spread of your work that you too are very 

much part of the Dublin legal community. It has been a fascinating 

insight into the diversity of practices and the issues and challenges as 

they see it. One if those managing partners Emer Gilvarry is featured 

elsewhere in this edition. 

Finally , I have been bowled over by the depth of good wishes and 

kind words bestowed upon my by very many colleagues. With the 

tremendous support of my Council I wont let you down and together, 

please God this time next year we’ll be in a better place. 

Kevin O’Higgins 

O' Higgins Pays Tribute 

to Outgoing President 

DSBA President Kevin O'Higgins speaking on behalf of 

the Council paid a fulsome tribute to Michael Quinlan at 

his last meeting as President of the DSBA as follows 

On my own behalf and on behalf of council I would like 

to express my heartfelt appreciation to Michael in 

relation to the work and effort he has put into his role as 

President of the Association. 

Michael Quinlan has represented us with great 

distinction and none more so than in his efforts with the 

conference. 

He really will be a tough act to follow! 

During Michael's tenure as President he re-established 

the Association in what will hopefully be our new home 

here in Harcourt Street for some time to come. 

He brought in additional skills to the administration 

aspects of the Association with the recruitment of Anna. 

He drove on the committees which are all working and 

functioning well, and put on a very successful dinner 

dance. 

But of course the highlight for those of us lucky enough 

to have been there - China- a place where no one had 

dared go before and probably will never dare to go 

again! 

As Shakespeare said 


" We have come to bury Caeser-not to praise him " 

But I say to Michael - 

With his easy going, non-confrontational manner and 

general willingness to get along with people we have 

come to praise him not to hurry him! 

And I think you will agree that Michael deserves and 

has earned our fullest commendation. 

Kevin O'Higgins 

And it’s goodbye from him…… 

It is with great pleasure that I hand over the editorship of the Parchment to John Geary and wish him the 

very best in the many, many, many years of enjoyment ahead. While there is a good bit of work involved, it 

is one of the most satisfying jobs in the D.S.B.A. 

Over the past few years the Parchment has grown from a basic newsletter format of 8 or 12 pages into its 

current editions of 40 pages plus. We have adopted advertisers to subsidise the cost of the Parchment and it 

is also available on our website. The range and depth (and length) of the articles featured in the Parchment 

has grown and I hope it will continue to grow, provided that the Parchment remains relevant to the needs of 

its readers. In addition to providing information to solicitors in Dublin, the Parchment has also tried to create 

some sense of the collegiality in Dublin by reporting on D.S.B.A. social events and by having the odd poke at 

some issue or another. The general feeling in the Parchment has always been that a sense of humour is 

essential if you are to maintain your sanity while making a living as a solicitor. 

The response to our letters to the editor piece on the solicitors writing room in the last edition, encouraged us 

to begin a series of ‘legal shrines ’ which takes a sideways look at places of interest in the solicitors landscape 

of Dublin. We are always on the lookout for new ideas for articles or for feedback, whether positive or 

negative so contact the DSBA if you have any ideas or contributions. 

I clearly recall when I was asked to become editor of the Parchment and 

wondered why my own happiness appeared to be far exceeded by that of the 

outgoing editor, Stuart. It was only subsequently that I realised, becoming 

editor is easier than getting someone else to take over and like the famous 

unlucky rabbit’s foot, you have to find someone else to take it from you before 

you are free of its curse. Now finally I can join former editors Justin 

McKenna, Kevin O’Higgins and Stuart Gilhooly in celebrating the passing 

of the rabbit’s foot to a new, enthusiastic editor. Happy Christmas ! 

Keith Walsh 

PARCHMENT 5

DUBLIN SOLICITORS BAR ASSOCIATION 

COUNCIL MEMBERS 

PRESIDENT 



15 Carysfort Avenue Blackrock 

Co. Dublin 

T. 2842420, F.2842421 

M. 087 221 8573 

E. kevinoh@indigo.ie 

John P.O'Malley 

Vice President D.S.B.A. 

Nominee to the Council of 

the Law Society 

Helene Coffey 

Honorary Secretary 

Alma Sheehan 

Member of 

the Conveyancing 

Committee 

Claire O’Regan 

Member Litigation, PIAB & 

Employment Law 

Committee 

Eamonn Shannon 

Joint Chairperson of 

Younger Members 

Committee 

VICE-PRESIDENT 

John P. O’Malley 

John P. O’Malley & Co. 

38 Percy Place Dublin 4 

T. 6603687 F. 6680956 

E. spanneromalley@ericom.net 

Kevin O’Higgins- The Leader at Last 

In the history of the DSBA, I would doubt that anyone has ever wanted 

the presidency as much as Kevin O’Higgins. After setting a modern 

day record of six years as secretary of the Association (see what I 

mean?), it has always seemed as though he was destined to be the 

President. 

I think it’s fair to say that no-one epitomises the spirit of the 

Association more than Kevin. He is at every bun-fight and whether it 

be a public meeting, committee meeting, seminar, dinner or 

conference, if you don’t see Kevin’s wavy comb-over, then you’re in 

the wrong place. Everyone knows him and he knows everyone. A 

consummate politician, of which more later, but no less real for it. 

You see, he actually cares and there are few of his type around. 

If you cut Kevin, he bleeds blue. No question. He has three real loves 

(outside, of course, of his beloved wife Gay and his three children) 

namely Fine Gael, Leinster Rugby and the DSBA. All blue. And does 

he love them. None may be criticised and none have any fault. It has 

become the ritual among those who know him best to rise him as 

much as possible by gently (sometime not so gently) suggesting an 

occasional flaw in Fine Gael and/or Leinster (the DSBA is like the pope 

- infallible). This will initiate an impassioned defence (rarely logical) of 

the sort that will immediately make you regret mentioning the subject 

in the first place. 

If you pressed him, he would probably concede that Fine Gael is the 

first among his equal three first loves. In fairness, the O’Higgins 

family go back a long way with the blueshirts. He makes an annual 

trip to Beal na mBlath every August to genuflect at the memory of 

Michael Collins. Rumours that his Annual Conference will take place 

there are unfounded (though with the recession in full flow, anything 

is possible). With the local elections upcoming this summer, his 

family will be lucky to see the all-action President at all. 

Kevin holds another remarkable distinction. He is only mascot 

Leinster has had over the age of 10. Yes, he did actually bring the 

flag out himself a few years ago before a match. When he grows up, 

he wants to play for Leinster at out-half apparently. 

One final matter we can’t ignore, is Kevin’s frankly ridiculous penchant 

for wearing socks that match his tie. Yes, sober suits are often 

matched with luminous yellow or pink matching tie and sock sets. 

You couldn’t make it up. 


Stuart J. Gilhooly 

Honorary Treasurer. 

Member of the Parchment 

Committee 

John Glynn 

Website & Technology 

Co-ordinator, D.S.B.A 

Nominee to the council of 


Paddy Kelly 

Consult a Colleague 

Co-ordinator and 

Chairperson of the 

Practice Management 

Committee 

Geraldine Kelly 

Programmes Director, 

Member Conveyancing 

Committee. 

Keith Walsh 

Parchment Editor, Vice 

Chairperson of the Family 

Law Committee, D.S.B.A. 

nominee to the Council of 


John Hogan 

Chairperson of the 

Business & Commercial 

Law Committee, Member 

of the Practice 

Management Committee 

Julie Doyle 

is a solicitor with the 

private client department 

of Matheson Ormsby 

Prentice solicitors. Julie 

has been a member of the 

Conveyancing Committee 

of the D.S.B.A. for a 

number of years and 

brings a wide range of 

experience to the D.S.B.A. 

Council 

John Glynn 

John Glynn & Co 

Law Chambers, The Village Square 

Tallaght, Dublin 24 

T. 4515099, F. 4515120 

E.john@solicitor.net 

Keith Walsh 

Keith Walsh Solicitors 

8 St Agnes Road 

Crumlin Village, 

Dublin 12 

T.4554723, F.4554596 

M. 087 8576499 

keith@kwsols.ie 

John Geary 

is a litigation solicitor 

practising with D.J. Synott 

solicitors. In a former life 

he worked as a journalist 

with the Connaught 

Telegraph. His journalistic 

skills will be put to the test 

when he takes over as 

Editor of the Parchment 

following this edition and 

no doubt he will elevate 

the Parchment to new 

heights. John chairs the 

Litigation PIAB, 

employment and human 

rights committee. 

John Hogan 

Leman Solicitors 

10 Herbert Lane, 

Dublin 2 

T. 6393000, F. 6393000 

E.jhogan@lemansolicitors.com 

Paddy Kelly 

McKeever Rowan 

5 Harbourmaster Place 

I F S C, Dublin 1 

T. 6702990, F.6702988 

M. 087 6815215 

E.pkelly@mckr.ie 

Grainne Whelan 

is joint Chairperson of the 

Younger Members 

Committee and works with 

Frank Ward & Co. 

solicitors where she 

practices in the area of 

litigation and most areas 

of general practice. 

Grainne’s famous 

enthusiasm will add plenty 

of energy to the D.S.B.A. 

Council in the coming 

year. 

DSBA ORDINARY COUNCIL MEMBERS 2008/2009 

Alma Sheehan 

Sheehan & Co 

1 Clare Street, 

Dublin 2 

T. 6616067, F. 6610013 

E.sheehana@sheehanandco.ie 


Mac Guill & Company 

34 Charles Street West, 

Dublin 7 

T. 8787022, F. 7878011 

E.claire.oregan@macguill.ie 

SECRETARY 

Helene Coffey 

Coffey & McMahon 

223 The Capel Building, Mary’s Abbey, 

Dublin 7 

T. 6727633 F. 6727639 

M. 087 688406 

E.helene_coffey@cmsolicitors.ie 

TREASURER 

Stuart Gilhooly 

HJ Ward & Company 

Greenmount House, Harold’s Cross Road, 

Dublin 6W 

T.01 4532133 F. 01 4533461 

M.087 2389663 

E.stuartgilhooly@hjward.ie 

PROGRAMMES DIRECTOR 


Geraldine Kelly & Co 

195 Lower Kimmage Road 

Dublin 6W 

T. 4921223,F. 4921821 

M. 087 2592474 

E. gerkellysolicitors@eircom.net 


Patrick S Cahill 

Heritage House 

Dundrum Office Park 

Dundrum, Dublin 14 

T. 2980707, F. 2980808 

E.eamonn.shannon@gmail.com 


Frank Ward & Co 

Equity House 

Upr Ormond Quay, Dublin 7 

T. 8732499, F. 8733484 

E.grainne@frankward.com 


COMMITTEES OF THE DSBA 2008/2009 


John Geary 

D J Synnott & Co 

25 St Stephens Green, Dublin 2 

T. 6612396, F. 6618874 

E. jvgeary@gmail.com 

Julie Doyle 

Matheson Ormsby Prentice 

70 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay 

Dublin 2 

T. 2322000 F. 2323333 

E.julie.doyle@mop.ie 

CONSULT A COLLEAGUE 

Paddy Kelly 


5 Harbormaster Place 


T. 6702990, F.6702988 

M. 087 6815215 

E.pkelly@mckr.ie 

WEBSITE, TECHNOLOGY & 

CPD ON-LINE 

CHAIR 

John Glynn 




T. 4515099, F. 4515120 

E. john@solicitor.net 


EDITOR 

Keith Walsh 



Crumlin Village, Dublin 12 

T. 4554723, F. 4554596 

E. keith@kwsols.ie 

COMMITTEE 

John Geary 



T. 6612396, F. 6618874 



HJ Ward & Company 

Greenmount House 

Harold’s Cross Road, Dublin 6W 

T.4532133, F. 4533461 

M. 087 2389663 

E.stuart.gilhooly@hjward.ie 

EDUCATION & SEMINARS 

COMITTEE, 2008/2009 

PROGRAMMES DIRECTOR 



195 Lr. Kimmage Rd. Dublin 6W 

T. 4921223, F. 4921821 

M. 087 2592474 

gerkellysolicitors@eircom.net 

SOCIAL FUNCTIONS 

CO-ORDINATOR 



195 Lr Kimmage Rd. Dublin 6W 

T. 4921223, F. 4921821 

E. gerkellysolicitors@eircom.net 

COMMITTEE 

Julie Doyle 



Dublin 2 

T. 2322000, F. 2323333 

E. julie.doyle@mop.ie 

NOMINEES TO LAW 

SOCIETY COUNCIL 

John P O’Malley 

John P. O’Malley & Co. 

38 Percy Place, Dublin 4 

T. 6603687, F. 6680956 

E. spanneromalley@ericom.net 

John Glynn 




T. 4515099, F. 4515120 

E. john@solicitor.net 

Keith Walsh 




T. 4554723, F. 4554596 


PRACTICE MANAGEMENT 

COMMITTEE 

CHARPERSON 

Paddy Kelly 


5 Harbormaster Place 


T. 6702990, F. 6702988 

M. 087 6815215 

E. pkelly@mckr.ie 

COMMITTEE 

John Hogan 


10 Herbert Lane, Dublin 2 

T. 6393000, F. 6393000 

E. jhogan@lemansolicitors.com 

Maree Gallagher 

Maree Gallagher & Associates 

48 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2 

T. 688800, F. 6887935 

E. maree@mga.ie 

Ken Greene 

Greene 6 Partners 

5 Arkendale Road 

Glenageary, Co Dublin 

M. 086 2555170 

E. kgreene@greene6partners.com 

Ruadhan Killeen 

Killeen Solicitors 

14 Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1 

T. 8555197, F. 8554091 

E. rkilleen@killeensolrs.ie 

Cilian O’Brolchain 

Law Library Financial Services 

Metropolitan Building 

James Joyce Street, Dublin 1 

T. 086 3828873 

E. cilian_obrolchain@aon.ie 

BUSINESS & COMMERCIAL 

LAW COMMITTEE 

CHAIR 

John Hogan 



T. 01 6393000, F. 01 6393000 

E. jhogan@lemansolicitors.com 

COMMITTEE 

Pauline O Donovan 



Dublin 2 

T. 2322000 

E. pauline.odonovan@mop.ie 

Patrick Rowan 



IFSC, Dublin 1 

T. 6702990, F. 6702988 

E. prowan@mckr.ie 

Brendan Heneghan 

William Fry 

Fitzwilton House, Wilton Place, 

Dublin 2 

T. 6395000/6395143 (Secretary) 

F. 6385333/6625026 (direct) 

E.brendan.heneghan@williamfry.ie 

David Phelan 

Hayes Solicitors 

Lavery House 

Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2 

T. 6624747, F. 6612163 

E. dphelan@hayes-solicitors.ie 

Neil Keenan 

Lavery Kirby Gilmartin 

The Forum, 29-31 Glasthule Road 

Glasthule, Co. Dublin 

T. 2311430, F. 2311417 

E. neilk@laverykirby.ie 

Lorcan Tiernan 

Dillon Eustace 


Dublin 2 

T. 6670022, F. 6670042 

E. lorcan.tiernan@dilloneustace.ie 

Deirdre-Ann Barr 



Dublin 2 

T. 2322000, F. 2323333 

E. deirdreann.barr@mop.ie 

Robert Ryan 

Doherty Ryan & Associates 

6 Lower Hatch Street, Dublin 2 

T.6785192, F. 6785196 

E. rryan@dohertyryan.com 

Fiona Ward 

O Donnell Sweeney Eversheds 

The Earlsfort Centre 


T. 6644200, F.6644300 

E. fward@odse.ie 

Declan McNulty 

Eames & Company 

Unit 2, Block C 

Dundrum Business park 


CONVEYANCING 

COMMITTEE 

CHAIR 

Julie Doyle 



Dublin 2. 

T. 01 6199000, F. 01 6199010 


COMMITTEE 

Alma Sheehan 

Sheehan & Co 

1 Clare Street, Dublin 2 

T. 6616067, F. 6610013 

E. sheehana@sheehanandco.ie 

Ray Quinn 

Raymond Quinn 

Merchants Hall 

25/26 Merchants Quay, Dublin 8 

T. 6705726, F. 6705727 

E. ray@rqsolicitor.ie 

Garbhan O’Nuallain 

G. O’Nuallain & Co 

7 Argyle Square 

Morehampton Road, Dublin 4 

T. 6630814, F. 6630815 

E. gonuallain@eircom.net 

Liz Roche 

Mason Hayes & Curran 

South Bank House 

Barrow Street, Dublin 4 

T. 6145000, F.6145001 

E. eroche@mch.ie 

Natasha McKenna 

B C M Hanby Wallace 

88 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2 

T.4186900, F. 4186901 

Jackie Buckley 

Hayes Solicitors 

Lavery House 


T. 6624747, F.6612163 

E. jbuckley@hayes-solicitors.ie 

Mairead Cashman 

Dublin City Council 

Law Department 

Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8 

T. 6723212, F. 6707687 

mairead.cashman@dublincityp.ie 

Justin McKenna 

Partners At Law 

8 Adelaide Street 

Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin 

T. 2800340, F. 2803101 

E.jmk@pals.ie 

Julie Doyle 



Dublin 2 

T. 6199000, F. 6199010 


FAMILY LAW & MINORS 

COMMITTEE 

CHAIR 

Jennifer O’ Brien 




T. 6145000, F.6145001 

E. jobrien@mhc.ie 

COMMITTEE 

Keith Walsh 




T. 01 4554723, F. 01 4554596 


Justin Spain 

Eugene Davy 

6-18 Harcourt Road, Dublin 2 

T.4751953, F.4782224 

E. jspain@eugenedavy.ie 

Helene Coffey 

Coffey & McMahon 

223 The Capel Building 

Mary’s Abbey,Dublin 7 

T. 01 6727633, F. 01 6727639 

M. 087 688406 

E.helene_coffey@cmsolicitors.ie 

Hugh Cunniam 

Legal Aid Board 

Law Centre, Tower Centre 

Clondalkin Village, Dublin 22 

T. 4576011, F.4576007 

Mary Hayes 

Gore & Grimes 

Cavendish House 

Smithfield, Dublin 7 

T. 8729299, F.8729877 

E. mary.hayes@goregrimes.ie 

Hilary Coveney 


70 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, 

Dublin 2 

T. 2322000, F. 2323333 

E. hilary.coveney@mop.ie 

Kathy Irwin 

Irwin Solicitors 

I Northumberland Avenue 


T. 2140454, F.2303260 

E.irwinsol@securemail.ie 

Cliona Costelloe 

O Connor & Bergin 

Suites 234 – 236 

The Capel Building 

Mary’s Abbey, Dublin 7 

T. 8732411, F. 8732517 

clionacostelloe@oconnorbergin.ie 

Audrey Byrne 

McCann Fitzgerald 

Riverside One 

Sir John Rogerson’s Quay,Dublin 2 

T. 8290000, F.8290010 

audrey.byrne@mccannfitzgerald.ie 

Anne O’Neill 




T. 6702990, F.6702988 

E. aoneill@mckr.ie 

Peter Quinn 

Sheridan Quinn 

29 Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2 

T. 6762810, F.6610295 

E. peter.quinn@sheridanquinn.ie 

Diego Gallagher 

BCM Hanby Wallace 


T. 4186900, F.4186901 

Rachel Murphy 

L K Shields 

39/40 Upper Mount St, Dublin 2 

T.6610866, F. 6610883 

E. rmurphy@lkshields.ie 

Caroline Staunton 

Anderson & Gallagher 

29 Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2 

T. 6776066, F. 6798494 

E. caroline@andersongallagher.ie 

LITIGATION , P.I.A.B., 

EMPLOYMENT LAW, 

IMMIGRATION, HUMAN 

RIGHTS, AND CRIMINAL 

LAW COMMITTEE 

CHAIR 

John Geary 



T. 6612396, F. 6618874 


COMMITTEE 


Mac Guill & Company 

34 Charles Street West, Dublin 7 

T. 8787022, F. 7878011 

E. claire.oregan@macguill.ie 


H.J. Ward & Company 

Greenmount House 

Harold’s Cross Road, Dublin 6W 

T. 4532133, F. 4533461 

E. Stuart.gilhooly@hjward.ie 

Barra O Cochloain 

John Glynn & Company 



T. 4515099, F. 4515120 

E. barra@solicitor.net 

Fiona Duffy 

Patrick F O Reilly & Co 

9/10 South Great Georges Street 

Dublin 2 

T. 6793565, F.6793421 

E. fiona.duffy@pforeilly.ie 

Michelle Ni Longain 

BCM Hanby Wallace 


T. 4186900, F. 4186901 

mnilongain@bcmhanbywallace.cm 

Deirdre McDermott 

Denis I Finn 

5 Lr Hatch Street, Dublin 2 

T. 6760844, F. 6764684 

E. dmcd@denisifinn.ie 

Hilkka Becker 

Immigrant Council of Ireland 

2 St Andrew Street,Dublin 2, 

T. 674 0202 

E. hilkka@immigrantcouncil.ie 

Margaret MacEvilly 

Terence Lyons & Co 

4 Arran Quay, Dublin 7 

T. 8723944, F.8723954 

E. macavilly@tlyonssolicitor.ie 

Evelyn Savage 

Dawson Solicitors 

RSA House 

Dundrum Town Centre 

Sanyford Road, Dundrum 

Dublin 16 

T. 2901813 

E.Evelyn.Savage@ie.rsagroup.com 

Gerard Prendiville 

Newman Solicitors 

Mespil Court 

Mespil Road, Dublin 4 

T. 6133200, F.7023736 

E. Gerry.predniville@allianz.ie 

Darragh Lenehan 

AXA Legal Services Solicitors 

AXA Ireland 

Wolfe Tone House 

Wolfe Tone Street, Dublin 1 

T.4533309, F.4538180 

E. dwlenehan@yahoo.com 

Cahir O Higgins 

Cahir F O Higgins 

Unit 330, The Capel Building 

Marys Abbey, Dublin 7 

T. 8744744 

E. cohiggins@eircom.net 

Triona Price 

Eames & Company 

2 Malthouse Square 

Smithfield Village 

Bow Street, Dublin 7 

T. 8725155, F .8725664 

E. t.price@eames.ie 

Fiona Ward 

O Donnell Sweeney Eversheds 

The Earlsfort Centre 


T. 6644200, F.6644300 

E. fward@odse.ie 




Frank Ward & Co 

Equity House 


T.8732499, F.8733484 

E. grainne@frankward.com 

PROBATE & TAXATION 

COMMITTEE 

CHAIR 

Justin McKenna 

Partners At Law 

8 Adelaide Street 


T.2800340, F. 2803101 

E. jmk@pals.ie 

Finola O’Hanlon 

O Hanlon Tax Limited 

6 City Gate 

Lower Bridge Street, Dublin 8 

T.604 0280 F. 604 0281 

E. finola@hanlontax.ie 

Cedric Christie 

Christie & Co 

Pepper Canister House 

Mount Street Crescent, Dublin 2 

T. 6627185, F. 6627187 

E. cchristie@indigo.ie 


Sonya Manzor 

William Fry 

Fitzwilton House 

Wilton Place,Dublin 2 

T.01 6395213, F.01 6395333 

E. sonya.manzor@williamfry.ie 

Anne Stephenson 

Fallon & Stephenson 

55 Carysfort Avenue 

Blackrock, Co Dublin 

T.2756759, F. 2109845 

E. falllonstephenson@eircom.net 

Jennifer Tuite 


70 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, 

Dublin 2 

T.6199000, F. 6199010 

jennifer.tuite@mop.ie 

William Christopher 

B C M Hanby Wallace 


T. 4186900 

E. wchristopher@bcmhw.com 

Nora Larkin 




T 6145000, E. nlarkin@mhc.ie 

YOUNG MEMBERS 

COMMITTEE 

CHAIR 


Patrick S Cahill 

Heritage House 

Dundrum Office Park 


T2980707, F 2980808 

E., eamonn.shannon@gmail.com 

COMMITTEE 


Frank Ward & Company 

Equity House 


T. 8732499, F. 8733484 

E. grainne@frankward.com 

Isobel McCarthy 

Ahearn O Shea 

5 Clare Street, Dublin 2 

T. 6616102, F. 6624726 

E. Isobel@ahernoshea.ie 

Liam Fitzgerald 

A B Wolfe & Co 

76 Lr. Baggot Street, Dublin 2 

T.777 1941, F. 775 1910 

E. Liam.Fitzgerald@mop.abw.ie 

Conor Canavan 

Joseph T Mooney & Company 

23 Upper Mount Street 

Dublin 2 

T.6624299, F.6620004 

E. conor.canavan@gmail.com 

Paul Ryan 

Ben O Rafferty Solicitor 

18 Merrion Row, Dublin 2 

T. 6764638, F.6612020 

E. paul@benoraffertysols.ie 

Danielle Conaghan 

Arthur Cox 

Earlsfort Centre 


T. 6180000, F. 6180618 

Deborah Kearney 



T. 639300, F. 639001 

dkearney@lemansolicitors.com 

Book Review 

Statutory 

Interpretation 

in Ireland; 

David Dodd, 

2008, Tottel 

Publishing 

€140.00, 

hardback. 

This detailed and scholarly book 

examines the criteria and principles 

used by the Courts in interpreting 

primary and secondary legislation. As 

any solicitor who has attended the 

Superior Courts in a case involving an 

interpretation of a particular article of 

an act is aware, this is an extremely 

tricky area and while some of the 

answers are to be found in the 2005 

Statutory Interpretation Act, many 

more questions are raised when you 

are forced to look into the common 

law. David Dodd has performed a 

painstaking task with great skill and 

produced an accessible text which is as 

straightforward as its subject matter is 

complex. 

He introduces basic concepts of 

statutory construction and simply 

states the objective of statutory 

interpretation as identifying the 

intention of the legislature. He 

examines in some detail the 2005 Act 

as well as examining interpretative 

criteria from the case law. The real 

problems with this area become 

obvious as you read through the book 

and you learn that, in Dodd’s words, 

‘interpretative criterion generally fly in 

pairs and for every criterion 

supporting a particular interpretation, 

another can usually be found pointing 

to a different conclusion’. I found that 

the most useful way of approaching 

this book in relation to a particular 

point was to start with the 2005 Act 

and Dodd in his chapter on the Act 

will then refer you to the relevant 

other chapters in the book which deal 

with principles and concepts, many of 

which have been to a degree 

incorporated in the Act, for example 

some of the types of interpretative 

doubt –ambiguity, obscurity, 

absurdity. In conclusion, this is an 

excellent, accessible text in an area of 

great complexity and when you are 

faced with a statutory interpretation 

dilemma, this book should be your 

first port of call. 

KW 

PRACTITIONER 

Litigation 

PIAB Delay in 

Registering Claim not 

Fatal 

A break at last for the poor stressed out solicitor. On 26 November 

2008, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne decided that delay by the Personal 

Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB or Injuries Board depending on 

what mood they are in) should not mean a claim is outside the two 

year time limit to stop the time running for the purposes of the 

Statute of Limitations in circumstances where the correct claim was 

sent to PIAB within the time limit but officially registered outside of 

it. 

The case of Isis Figueredo -v- Eamon McKiernan (High Court - 

Record No. 2007/9078P) arose out a road traffic accident that 

occurred on 10 November 2004. As a result of the Civil Liability and 

Courts Act 2004, it fell into the category of accident which, having 

occurred between 31 March 2004 and 31 March 2005, had a statute 

that expired on 30 March 2005. 

This was common case in the action that came before Ms Justice 

Dunne on foot of a Notice of Motion following the plea by the 

Defendant that the case was statute-barred as a preliminary point. 

What was in dispute was that the Plaintiff’s solicitors had made the 

claimant’s application by registered post on 29 March 2007 but PIAB 

had registered it on 2 April 2007 and so informed the Plaintiff’s 

solicitors by letter. An authorisation issued on 2 July 2007 and 

personal injuries summons on 5 December 2007. 

The Defendants in the case argued that Rule 3(3) of the PIAB Rules 

2004, which states, inter alia, that the date that time stops running 

under Section 50 of the 2003 Act is the date that the claimants 

application under Section 11 “is acknowledged in writing as having 

been received by the Board”, meant that the Plaintiff’s claim was 

statute-barred. 

Ms Justice Dunne said that if the Defendant was correct that this 

would mean the Plaintiff would be statute-barred by reason of 

circumstances outside his control. She referred to the case of Poole v 

O’Sullivan (1993) ILRM 55 which arose out a Plenary Summons which 

the Plaintiff sought to issue following an accident on 8 July 1987. As 

the 7 July 1990 fell on a Saturday, the next available date to issue it 

was Monday, 9 July 1990, when the Central Office next opened, and 

in those circumstances, Morris J felt the summons was issued in time. 

In this instance, the 30 March 2007 was a Friday but as the 

application was posted properly the day before, she saw no reason 

why the application should not have been received that day. She 

found that the affixing of a date stamp by PIAB in those 

circumstances should not oust the statutory provisions in relation to 

the limitation period and she therefore found that the Plaintiff was 

not statute-barred. 

A couple of observations. Firstly, it’s not clear if this has been 

appealed though it seems unlikely given the inherent logic of the 

decision. Secondly and more importantly, this case should not be 

seen as giving carte blanche to send in an application on the last day 

and take a chance. This was a case which to some extent turned on 

its facts and, of course, if the application had been sent back for 

correction/amendment, the case would have been statute-barred. It is 

infinitely more preferable to have a letter from PIAB before the 

statute runs out confirming that the case has been properly 

registered. Ideally, all applications should be made long before this 

stage. 






Falling off a cliff 

Anne Neary examines and advises on the huge changes facing 

you as a solicitor following the seismic economic changes. 

I have completed a countrywide 

series of seminars sponsored by the 

Solicitors Mutual Defence Fund 

called How to Succeed in a Slowing 

Economy. I sent around 

questionnaires at each seminar to 

get a good sense of how firms are 

faring. The responses changed 

throughout the year. At the 

beginning of the year, solicitors 

reported that they experienced a 

fall in turnover averaging 10% but 

by September one solicitor in 

particular describing the experience 

as “falling off a cliff”. 

It is not true that every firm is 

experiencing such difficulties. A 

small number of firms positioned 

themselves carefully over the past 

few years and developed expertise 

in insolvency and receivership 

before the recession really took 

hold. Others who had a 

serendipitous balance within a 

number of areas are finding that 

probate and litigation have picked 

up and have balanced the fall in 

conveyancing fees. 

Onward to 2009 – the rule is 

“survival”. 

There are nearly 9,000 practicing 

solicitors in Ireland. If we assume 

that there are approximately 4 

million people in Ireland; that gives 

a figure of one solicitor for every 

444 people, man woman and child 

in the country. Almost 90% of 

solicitors practice either as sole 

practitioners, sole principals or in 

firms with two partners. 

The recession is bringing about 

radical change very quickly. 

Market forces are putting small 

firms under unprecedented 

pressure, and the dramatic rise in 

PI insurance premiums is forcing 

many solicitors to rethink how they 

practice. 

Premiums available for solicitors 

selling practices 

We have found that the market in 

purchases of solicitors’ practices is 

very active at the moment. There is 

a dearth of good profitable 

practices for sale, and there are 

many solicitors anxious to buy 

practices in good locations. So, 

surprisingly, there is a premium 

available for solicitors selling 

practices and we have seen good 

prices paid, particularly towards 

the end of the year. 

The biggest trend in 2008/09 - 

mergers 

However, the biggest trend is for 

firms to seek suitable firms with 

which to merge. Sharing expenses 

and overheads is an obvious way 

to survive the financial pressures of 

falling turnover. The difficulty 

which we have seen is that so many 

firms are tied into their current 

offices, making a move impossible. 

So, again, there is considerable 

demand for flexible firms who wish 

to move premises to either 

associate with or merge with a 

compatible firm. 

2008 – the devil we know – 2009 

– the devil we don’t 

Those of us who practiced 

throughout the ‘80s and early ‘90s 

have survival tools which need to 

be dusted off and used now. There 

is a horrible sense about that the 

achievement of the last 10 years 

have crumbled to dust and that a 

new economic world order is 

taking shape. What that shape will 

be is unclear to us all. 2008 has 

been very difficult, but 2009 is the 

year I believe will present the 

ultimate challenges. 

The rules of survival for 2009 

There are many causes for law 

firms to fail. The main cause of 

firms failing is when they run out 

of cash, but it is also due to a 

number of other factors such as: 

failure to respond to changing 

demands; weak leadership; 

undiversified practices; large 

overheads taken on over the past 3 

years; investments in property; 

weak firm culture and stifled 

innovation. 

Have a strategic re-think 

If you were to start all over again 

on a blank page, what would you 

do differently? Why not make 

those changes now? Change can be 

put on the long finger when cases 

and clients flow in, but when it all 

Anne Neary 

slows down, this is the time to 

re-examine the business. 

Watch your cash flow 

Keep watching all your bank 

arrangements. Re-finance ahead of 

deadlines. Manage your accounts 

aggressively. Keep talking to your 

bankers 

A zero based budget 

Start your budget now for 2009. 

Look at all your expenditure, 

including rent on your office space, 

and start looking for the best value. 

Manage your Risk 

PI insurance premiums have risen 

dramatically this year. Many 

claims have arisen not because of 

failure of solicitors to adequately 

advise their clients but due to 

careless practices in overstretched 

firms during the boom years. Its 

time now to start managing our 

risk and putting controls in place. 

Communicate 

Your staff will be wondering what 

is going to happen next year. Now 

is the time to get everyone together 

in a room for a few hours to have a 

frank discussion about the future. 

You may be surprised at the 

entrepreneurial ideas which might 

flow. 

Join our confidential register if 

you want to buy, sell or merge 

in 2009. 

We have set up a free register for 

solicitors who are interested in 

merging, forming alliances, selling 

a practice or looking for a practice 

to buy. This is a practical way of 

getting in contact with other like 

minded firms. We have a large 

number of firms on the register 

already, many of whom are 

actively in discussions and 

negotiations about creative ways to 

reduce costs and increase focus on 

business development. If you 

would like to join, please email me 

at anne@anneneary.ie 

The End of Lawyers? 

Rethinking the Nature of Legal 

Services 

This is the title of a book on my 

Christmas list, written by Richard 

Susskind, a professor at Gresham 

College in London and the 

University of Strathclyde in 

Glascow. 

The basic theme of the book is that 

markets will no longer tolerate 

expensive lawyers for tasks that 

can be better discharged with 

support of modern systems and 

techniques. He states that the legal 

profession will be driven by two 

forces in the coming decade: by a 

market pull towards the 

commoditization of legal services 

and by the pervasive development 

and uptake of new legal 

technologies. 

We have seen the dramatic results 

of the commoditization of legal 

services here over the past few 

years– prices falling for 

conveyancing and land related 

services and PIAB putting 

commoditization of personal 

injuries on an institutionalized 

basis. 

England says goodbye to the 

monopoly on Legal Services 

There have been extraordinary 

changes in England and Wales, 

where widespread liberalization of 

the legal profession is underway. 

The monopoly on the provision of 

legal services is gradually being 

eroded, and solicitors will now be 

competing with banks, insurance 

companies, accountants and 

grocery chains in the provision of 

legal services. 

These changes have not been 

discussed much in Ireland, but are 

signals of the way forward for the 

legal profession. The latest 

revolutionary changes have been 

enacted in the Legal Services Act 

2007. Up to this, lawyers were 

prohibited from entering into 

partnership with non-lawyers and 

there were restrictions on 

unregulated persons being 

formally involved in the 

management of these businesses, 

and unregulated persons having 

any stake in the ownership of such 

businesses. 

This generally meant that neither 

different types of lawyers (for 

example, solicitors and barristers) 

nor lawyers and non-lawyers could 

work together in legal 

partnerships, as is the case in 

Ireland. 

Alternative Business Structures 

permit lawyers and non lawyers 

practice together 

The Legal Services Act 2007 

provides for the establishment of 

Alternative Business Structures 

(ABS) which will enable lawyers 

and non-lawyers to work together 

on an equal footing to deliver legal 

and other services. External 

investment will be possible, and 

new business structures will give 

legal providers greater flexibility to 

respond to market demands, 

within the UK and overseas. 

Licences will be conferred by 

licensing 

authorities. 

Current trading conditions 

We still have a monopoly on the 

provision of legal services, but 

despite the monopoly, solicitors are 

finding trading in the current 

economic environment extremely 

difficult. We are all hearing the 

stories of pay cuts across the board 

in many firms, equity partners 

required to contribute large capital 

sums to refinance their firms, 

decades old firms in danger of 

ceasing operations, lay offs of 

experienced solicitors and trainees 

being let go. 

Anne Neary 

Tel. 4911866 or 086 1955919, 

anne@anneneary.ie 

Anne Neary Consultants Services 

Anne Neary Consultants Services Management Programmes 

Practice Management Programmes Regulation Advice 

Business Development and Marketing Risk Assessment Partnership Issues 

Work Systems Standardising legal work 

(systems and precedents – conveyancing; probate; litigation) 

ISO 9001-2000 

Business standards and quality – ISO 9001 

Sales, Purchases and Mergers Sale and Purchase of Legal Practices 

Mergers and Amalgamations Staff Training 

Firm retreats (Training for Staff & Solicitors) 

Publications 

The Solicitor’s Toolkit The Legal Secretaries Toolkit The Managing Partners Toolkit 

Office Manual Contracts of Employment IT Services 

Technology Audit – what have you got and what do you need? 

Case Management Software Disaster Recovery Planning 

Knowledge Management Offshore Digital Dictation 

Our new services 

Tenders Writing Service Understanding the Documentation 

PQQ or ITT Standard Forms Terms and Conditions 

Evaluation Process Selection Criteria Weightings 

Enhancing Your Response Developing Your Policies Added Value 

Understanding Sustainability Keeping It Simple 

Presentations and Site Visits Debriefing Accessing Further Information 

Website Makeovers Rebranding and Repositioning your firm 

Enhancing your firm image Punching above your weight 

Ensuring your full potential is communicated 

Using the full power of the internet to market your firm 

Redesigning the look of your website Repackaging your services 

Content writing and redesign Award Criteria 

Using web forms to capture client information 

Contact anne@anneneary.ie or phone 01 4911866 or 086 1955919 



The Case Management System 

The New CORT System 

The Right System 

14 PARCHMENT PARCHMENT 15



Uncertain 

Times 

John Geary looks at the bad news for solicitors 

from the employment market and looks forward 

to better times. 

The current economic climate is putting a huge strain 

on the legal profession. As work becomes even scarcer, 

solicitor’s practices are being forced to let staff go in a 

bid to cut overheads. 

The property boom which saw a great demand for 

conveyancing solicitors over the past five years is now 

over and these key professionals are unfortunately 

finding themselves without work and on the dole. 

According to Recruitment specialist, John Cronin of 

PRC there is a recruitment freeze at the moment among 

most of the leading law firms and this is turning into a 

“PR War” as nobody wants to be seen to be the bearer 

of bad news. 

Unemployment figures exclusively obtained by The 

Parchment under the Freedom of Information Act show 

a startling rise in the number of “legal professionals” 

currently on job seekers benefit. The latest figure is an 

astounding 647 legal eagles on the dole as of 28 th 

November 2008. There’s no doubt that that figure will 

rise considerably over the coming months as notice 

periods are served and the cold wind of recession bites. 

It is important to analyse these figures released by the 

Department of Social and Family Affairs before 

drawing any conclusions. First off, the figures do not 

provide a breakdown between Solicitors or Barristers 

and also include a portion of legal academic staff and 

legal executives/paralegals that are without work. 

The number of people on the Live Register on 1st 

January 2007 from the Legal Profession was 289. That 

figure took a significant rise later that year when a total 

of 341 legal professionals were on social welfare as of 1 st 

July 2007. 

The 1st January 2008 saw that figure rise to a total of 

359 and the steady increase continued unabated to 418 

legal professionals on the dole by 31 st May 2008. 

What then becomes apparent is that only three months 

later there was a massive 170 more legal people on the 

dole. The department figures for 26 th September 2008 

show the figure jumping 40% to 588 – its highest in 

years. 

But the number of legal people out of work has 

unfortunately continued to rise and rise as practitioners 

in areas others other than conveyancing are being let 

go. At the end of November the jobless figure has more 

than doubled in less than two years. 

It is indeed uncertain times for solicitors working in the 

so-called ‘larger firm’. The Sunday Tribune business 

supplement led with an article a few weeks ago saying 

that one of Dublin’s largest legal practices had asked its 

partners to accept a 15% pay cut. It is understood that 

since then, many of the solicitors in that firm (and other 

firms) have been asked to take pay cuts in the region of 

10%. 

Due to the recent down turn, one of the top five firms 

have recently terminated the services of an entire unit 

of its commercial property practice resulting in a 

partner and a number of solicitors and support staff 

being made redundant. 

This pattern has continued across the small and 

mid-tier firms who are letting people go in “ones and 

twos” and managing people out due to the downturn. 

John Cronin of PRC Recruitment says that there is a 

“recruitment embargo” on almost all of the mid-sized 

and large Dublin law firms and this is likely to run well 

into 2009. 

“There are elements of redeployment in offices at the 

moment. Solicitors in Commercial Property are moving 

to Corporate or Commercial Litigation” says Cronin. 

He feels the main reason for the current job crisis is 

down to money. “The banks aren’t lending to anyone 

and there are no commercial deals or transactions.” 

For the past six months, Cronin has been literally 

besieged with CV’s from unemployed solicitors. “I was 

getting six or seven calls a day from people saying that 

they have been given their notice. That has eased off 

somewhat now as I think reality is now dawning on 

many solicitors that the work just isn’t currently there.” 

One of the main places to source new work for 

solicitors is the Law Society website. The ‘Employment 

Opportunities’ page of the website is one of the first 

places solicitors look to find work. It has made grim 

reading for the past six months. Whilst there have been 

new postings of work every week of some form or 

another – many of the positions relate to secretarial and 

legal executive roles and the occasional solicitor 

opportunity for work can be for as far away as the 

Caribbean. The traditional general practice role has 

been as scarce as a hen’s tooth and meanwhile all the 

more solicitors are applying for the same roles, creating 

a headache for practitioners who are reportedly having 

to swift through hundreds of CV’s for perhaps just one 

position. 

Another indicator of the current job crisis for solicitors 

is the Irish Times recruitment supplement on a Friday. 

It hasn’t seen a solicitor vacancy advertised for a 

considerable period of time and in many recent weeks, 

the ‘Legal Section’ has been removed altogether as 

neither solicitor’s practice or recruitment agent offer a 

morsel of consolation for the beleaguered unemployed 

solicitor. 

The Trainee Cull 

The plight of the trainee solicitor is now becoming very 

worrying as trainees are being “let go” in wholesale 

numbers. Even the larger firms are now notifying their 

trainees that unfortunately their services will not be 

required once their training contract is up. 

“It’s very bleak for newly qualified lawyers” says John 

Cronin of PRC Recruitment. With the large numbers of 

trainees qualifying – many of them are not being kept 

on by their current offices which makes it an uphill 

battle to secure a new job without any post qualification 

experience. 

One large Dublin law firm reportedly told their trainees 

that there was no contract of employment for them on 

qualifying. They were advised to head to the Australia 

or overseas to try and get work in a law firm and then 

when the economy here picked up in time, they would 

be given preference to be rehired. One astute observer 

said that “it’s a case of Shanghai, Dubai or goodbye.” 

According to Cronin, the large law firms are still 

investing in the same amount of trainees. “The big 

firms are not curbing the numbers they are recruiting 

for their current intake of trainees. They are 

maintaining the high numbers and are not reducing 

them. This would indicate that an upturn in the 

economy is expected after the three year trainee cycle.” 

Numbers at the Law School 

Ken Murphy, Director General of the Law Society says 

that the law is clear on curtailing numbers entering the 

Law School at Blackhall Place. “Following two court 

decisions in the 1980s – Gilmore and McGowan, the 

numbers cannot be restricted in any way. There was 

also the Competition Act of 1991. It’s simply a case of 

supply and demand.” 

And demand is down a whopping 11% at Blackhall 

Place for the last professional practice course. In 2007 

the number of trainees attending PP1 was 671 whilst 

this has fallen to 596 on the current course. This decline 

is the first significant decline in demand for training 

places since 2001. 

Ken Murphy is keen to point out that the numbers in 

Blackhall Place were not “out of control” as was 

perceived by some solicitors. “It was simply a case of 

accommodating all of the trainees which firms and 

offices were willing to take on.” 

Murphy reminds us that this is not the first recession 

the profession has experienced and he recalls the 1980s 

when jobs in the legal profession were very scarce. 

“Our economy is cyclical and we have just been 

through an unprecedented period of economic growth. 

During this current downturn the suffering is likely to 

be intense” predicts Murphy. 

“The main drivers for the profession over the past ten 

years were personal injury actions and then more 

recently the property boom. When these two areas 

declined it has had a negative impact on the profession. 

On a positive note, the number of Personal Injury cases 

is on the up. The issuing of High Court Personal Injury 

Summons has more than doubled from 2,673 in 2007 to 

5,951 in 2007.” 

However, Murphy says that it was the suddenness of 

the downturn that has shocked everyone. “It has been 

an extraordinary collapse. However, we must not 

succumb to pessimism. The profession is willing to 

adapt to change as we approach more the difficult 

times ahead.” 

John Geary 




Time to take stock of your 

business and how you 

manage it 

For many professional service firms the busyness, 

growth and profitability of the boom years gave rise to 

significant complacency and lip service around key 

business, management and professional issues and 

processes. In some cases they were dealt with 

defensively and this led to some superficial solutions 

which tend not to last and often leave people in their 

comfort zone. In many other cases there was denial 

about the extent of the slippage. Very often the key 

weaknesses were masked by the flow of work or 

ignored in the rush to meet the demands of clients. 

Talent shortages excused a degree of flexibility in 

dealing with the shortcomings in processes and 

management. The constant pressure to produce meant 

that such concerns were not given priority and that 

they would be dealt with later. 

Well, it’s later now. 

With the changed economic climate and business 

circumstances it is time to take stock and to carryout a 

comprehensive review of your business. 

Below is a list of questions just to prompt your 

thinking. 

1. What has happened for your firm over the 

last 5 years? 

a. To what extent have you maximised the 

opportunities that the Celtic tiger brought? 

b. Have you expanded your client base profitably and 

serviced your clients in a way that makes a real 

difference? 

c. Have you managed the internal structures of your 

firm so you know, really know the following? 

i. How precisely do you analyse the details of the 

financial performance and do the key 

performance indicators reflect the changes in 

this performance? 

ii. Have you managed and developed all your 

staff so you reap the benefits of their 

contribution? 

iii. Have you developed the technology necessary 

to support your business? 

iv. To minimise your commercial and professional 

risks have you ensured that the necessary 

quality standards are truly in place such as a 

clearly documented set of professional 

Ken Greene is a member of the DSBA Practice 

Management Committee, a Management consultant 

with a well-rounded management knowledge gained in a 

diversity of senior roles in professional services (A&L 

Goodbody) and general management (Jefferson Smurfit 

Group) over 20 years. 

He is able to offer well-honed management, 

interpersonal and communications skills, demonstrably 

utilized to devise meaningful strategies and to achieve 

bottom line advantage. 

procedures, a system to ensure these are 

applied consistently and a review process to 

monitor this? 

2. What is your current situation? 

a. Have you a real handle on all aspects of cash 

management in your firm? 

i. Are you collecting your debtors on time? 

ii. Is there an increase in credits and discounts? 

iii. How are you managing this process? 

b. Have you a clear sense of how well you are keeping 

your share of the shrinking pie of work? 

i. Is there a niggle that some of the skills and 

vigour for business development, selling and 

networking have been lost due to the huge 

volume of work that was available in recent 

years? 

c. Do you need to overhaul your appraisal system and 

really tackle any areas of underperformance now 

that the war for talent has eased? 

3. How can you plan for the future? 

a. How will you optimise your client retention and 

acquisition? 

i. How do you keep and develop your 

relationships with existing clients? 

ii. What 3-5 initiatives are you planning to 

generate new business? 

iii. Are there new services that you need to provide 

to protect and enhance your offering? 

b. How will you improve your financial efficiency? 

i. How will you tighten up the financial 

management of the practice to minimise 

overheads and balance this with necessary 

service to your clients and the development and 

performance management of your staff? 

ii. How will pricing be affected by the new 

economic climate and how flexible will you 

need to be? 

c. How will you enhance your professional and 

risk management? 

i. Do you have the internal disciplines and 

processes to minimise your business and 

professional risks? 

ii. Have you a succession plan in place? 

It makes sense to answer these questions now and 

to proactively deal with them in a reasonable time 

scale. If not then you need to be prepared to be run 

over by your competition as they leave you 

floundering. 

By the way, these answers must be firm specific. 

The key issues under each heading, as it pertains 

to your individual situation, must be identified. 

And you must not fool yourselves by thinking 

there are quick ways around this. Your firm needs 

a reality check here to ensure that there is an open 

and honest debate on these issues. You must stop 

kidding yourselves if you really want to address 

these new realities and challenges and also if we 

want to reap the rewards of new and better ways 

of doing things. 

Recently I have been involved with the DSBA 

Practice Management Committee in facilitating 

two seminars on Client Service and Practice 

Development. These seminars were innovative and 

highly engaging with demonstrations by 

professional actors on how to overcome the 

challenges in these areas and it resulted in us 

identifying some real issues and tackling the 

outcomes in a meaningful way. We will be 

running the 3 rd seminar on Succession Planning in 

the New Year. 

Imagine how more comfortable you would be if 

you had the answers and solutions in place now 

and were ready, as much as one can be, for what 

the future may bring. This is not rocket science but 

really needs more priority and commitment from 

those that are charged with running your firm. In 

some circumstances it may appear that there is a 

lot to tackle, involving much hard work but the 

alternatives are more unpleasant. Surely no one 

wants this? 

There is always tension between the excitement of 

the external aspects and the fear of excessive navel 

gazing on the internal challenges of the firm. 

However equity partners must wear the three 

hats that make up their role as producers, owners 

and managers. Without doubt the number one 

pressure is producing the legal work. The outcome 

of all the work and effort in the firm is the return 

to the owners. The relationship between the work 

and the outcome achieved will depend on the 

quality of its management. Current circumstances 

present the opportunity of giving more attention to 

the management of your business. This involves 

taking care of the key ingredients of clients, 

finances, staff, standards and risk. 

The time to take stock of these issues is now. 

Ken Greene 

Greene6 Partners, 5 Arkendale Road, Glenageary, 

County Dublin. 086 2555170; 

kgreene@greene6partners.com 

Book Review 

Medical Negligence 

Litigation: Emerging Issues, 

edited by Ciaran Craven B.L. 

and William Binchy,First Law, 

2008; €135.00 

This collection of essays by 

leading academics and 

practitioners in the area 

examines medical negligence 

litigation from the point of 

view of the defendant doctors 

and the health boards and also 

from the plaintiff’s perspective. 

Leading medical negligence 

solicitor Michael Boylan 

contributes a highly informative chapter on the 

challenges for plaintiff lawyers embarking on medical 

negligence cases. He provides a checklist of medical 

records required, advises that the hospital complaints 

procedures be used where possible and looks at the 

new importance of inquests. Boylan’s chapter is 100% 

practical but informed by his undoubted expertise in 

the area, he writes also of the evidential requirements 

needed before starting a medical negligence case and 

examines issues such as ‘loss of chance’ and the 

solicitors favourite- extending the statute of 

limitations. He also reviews the impact of the changes 

contained in the Civil Liability and Courts Act, 2004 

on medical negligence actions. 

Ciaran Craven sets out the application of the 

principles in the leading case of Dunne National 

Maternity Hospital while Des and Ray Ryan look at 

‘loss of chance’ in medical negligence cases. William 

Binchy examines problems with proof in this area 

while Neville Cox examines liability when suing 

health boards and hospitals. Liz Heffernan looks at 

expert evidence in medical negligence litigation. 

KW 

Also published 

Irish Tort Legislation, 

Dr. Elaine Fahey B.L., First 

Law, 2007, paperback 

€45.00 

A useful compendium of 

relevant legislation for 

practitioners 

Judgement & Legislation 

Digest 2007, Bart D. Daly 

B.L. & Dr. Elaine Fahey B.L., 

First Law, 2008, paperback, 

€175.00 

A great way to keep up to 

date with cases and a useful 

reference tool. It is simple to 

use and contains excellent 

one line summaries. 



CROSS EXAMINATION 

An Audience with 


Emer Gilvarry 

Meet Emer Gilvarry. Appointed by her fellow partners at Mason 

Hayes and Curran earlier this year as the firm’s new managing 

partner, Gilvarry has presided over an interesting, exciting and 

challenging first six months at the helm of one of the fastest 

growing law firms in Dublin. John Geary spoke to her about the 

recent merger with Arthur O’Hagan and their plans for the 

future. 

Emer Gilvarry, Managing Partner, Mason Hayes+Curran 

and John Gleeson, former Managing Partner, Arthur 

O’Hagan. 

Mason Hayes or “MHC” as it is commonly known 

made legal headlines a few short months ago when it 

was announced that Arthur O’Hagan and MHC were 

merging. The announcement came as a surprise to those 

in the legal world, when at a time of economic 

downturn these two divergent law firms were 

becoming legal bedfellows. 

Emer Gilvarry took over the managing partner mantle 

from Declan Moylan in April 2008. Moylan had served 

three terms at the helm and once Gilvarry took over, it 

wasn’t long before this highly talented and ambitious 

Mayo woman was steering a new direction for the firm. 

”As a merged practice, the partners of both offices were 

of the view that a name change was not a priority. The 

priority was to reassure clients of both firms that they 

would be dealing with the same advisers” says 

Gilvarry. 

It was reported in the national newspapers that the 

merger took place following contacts which developed 

between the two offices on a litigation case. Gilvarry 

points out that this is not true. “There is no such 

interesting angle. We have similar clients in hospitals, 

healthcare and education. Both of us have strong 

litigation practices. So it was on that basis that links 

were forged.” 

Arthur O’Hagan is a long established Dublin law firm 

which represents the Catholic Hierarchy and has many 

clients in the charitable and educational sphere. With its 

perceived conservative and traditional ethos, how 

complex was merging with a progressive business firm 

like MHC? 

“From conception to birth it only took a couple of 

months. There was a considerable amount of time and 

effort put in. It was an intensive two months but there 

was a commonality in terms of the objective. In fact, 

both firms approached the merger in a business like 

and progressive way. We learned that both firms were 

quite similar in terms of ethos. 

Once we got down to the detail, there wasn’t a huge 

amount of negotiation. “Merger discussions are not like 

transactional work or litigation whereby you’re out to 

do the best for your clients and get to walk away to the 

next deal or case” says Gilvarry of the merger talks. 

Most important in merger discussions is to remember 

that if talks are successful, the people conducting those 

talks end up as partners in the merged entity. 

There have been one or two other mergers in the recent 

past on the Irish legal scene. The Cork practice, Ronan 

Daly Jermyn merged with the Galway practice of 

William Glynn. “I would not be surprised if we kick 

started more mergers. There are great opportunities out 

there among other firms” commented Gilvarry. 

In these tough times for the smaller practice and with 

rising insurance costs and other threats, the option of 

mergers and alliances may yet become a growing trend. 

The merger with Arthur O’Hagan went “live” on 

October 1 st 2008 when the Harcourt Street based outfit 

moved lock, stock and barrel to the MHC state of the art 

offices on Barrow Street. Gilvarry’s new colleagues 

were accommodated into the various departments 

around the building allowing for maximum integration. 

“We have an open plan office here. We decided to go 

for an open plan environment when we moved to South 

Bank House. I have to say it was one of the best 

decisions we’ve ever made. On each floor there are four 

‘quiet rooms’ where you can disappear and conduct 

your business discreetly or take a private telephone 

call.” We managed to keep the merger confidential for 

over four months so that would give you an indication 

of how successful the open plan is. Most clients now 

ring me on my mobile so if you’re sitting at your own 

desk, you just move off, pop around the corner or walk 

around the atrium.” Gilvarry says it is a model of the 

UK firms – to improve the idea of integration and break 

down the barriers of ‘them and us’ between the partners 

and solicitors and the administrative staff. “Where I sit, 

there are trainees and secretaries beside my desk so it’s 

really all encompassing. There’s greater communication 

and people work much better together. You know 

what’s happening in the office and on a personal level” 

she enthuses. 

From the West 

Emer Gilvarry is a native of Killala, Co. Mayo. Her 

father Joseph was the local doctor in Killala and 

Ballycastle and she is fiercely proud of her west of 

Ireland roots. Dr. Joe or “Joko” as he became known 

was a footballing icon in Mayo and was a pivotal 

member of the 1950 and 1951 All-Ireland winning Mayo 

sides. In the 1951 final, Joe Gilvarry scored a crucial 

point which helped Mayo defeat a strong Louth side 

and lift the Sam Maguire. Emer’s uncles – Paddy, 

Johnny and Tom all represented Mayo sides from the 

early fifties and so GAA was steeped in the Gilvarry 

clan. Her father also played Leinster rugby and was 

captain of the Blackrock College team that won the 1942 

Senior Cup. “When my dad went to college here in 

Dublin he was playing Leinster rugby as Joe Gilvarry 

and had to play Gaelic football at home in Mayo as 

‘Joko’ Gilvarry. That was because of the controversial 

ban on GAA players playing foreign games. 

Theoretically, he had to be two different persons for the 

purposes of sport. Sadly he sadly died four years ago.” 

Early Legal Days 

She recalls her early academic days. “I did the leaving 

certificate at the young age of 16 and rushed through 

college. I didn’t stop to enjoy my time. It didn’t quite 

pass me by, but I was a studier” she recalls. 

Gilvarry qualified as a solicitor on her 21 st birthday 

having qualified through the old regime prior to 

Blackhall Place. During her 2 nd year BCL degree in UCD, 

she sat her law exams at the Incorporated Law Society 

and repeated the exercise the following summer – 

successfully securing her passage to becoming a 

solicitor. “It was intense. College is something that 

should be enjoyed. It’s a wonderful experience with 

great opportunities now like Erasmus and studying 

abroad. Back then, I simply put the head down and got 

through the hurdles.” 

Emer’s father, the late Dr. Joe Gilvarry arranged for his 

daughter to be indentured to a local solicitor in Ballina. 

“There was no training contract. It was based on 

academics back then. That was just before the law 

school opened in Blackhall Place. It was strange as you 

went from being a law student one day to being a 

solicitor the next.” 

She then worked with Bruce Blake for about two years 

at his office at 97 Lower Baggot Street. “Jobs were very 

scarce at the time. I put my name down on a list at the 

Law Society and thankfully got the start with Bruce.” 

After that she joined Mason Hayes and Curran. “That 

was 1982 and I’ve been here since.” 

The office of MH+C was quite different back in the early 

1980s than it is today. There was no more than 12 

solicitors and they operated out of 6 Fitzwilliam Square 




where they continued to do so until 2 ½ years ago before 

moving to Barrow Street. 

Busy Life 

Emer is married to Pat Buckley, an accountant from Cork 

and they have two children. As a young mother, Gilvarry 

is used to long busy days. With her home in Blackrock, 

she is usually at her desk by 6.45am in the morning. “I 

am home most evenings by 6.30-7pm. It’s busy but when 

you take on a role like mine, it’s fairly unrelenting. It is 

difficult to switch off – you’re always thinking of the next 

opportunity. The mobile phone and blackberry are 

always on.” 

And as if work at Mason Hayes+Curran wasn’t enough, 

Emer gives of her time and sits on the board of The 

Coombe Women’s University Hospital as well as being a 

board member of The Friends of St. Luke’s Hospital 

Board and a member of the Advisory Board of the UCD 

Smurfit Business School. 

MCH Today & Financial Results 

Time has seen huge changes to MH+C and it has a total of 

123 solicitors of which there are 45 partners. In all, 

MH+C has a total of 278 staff. 

Mason Hayes+Curran moved to their Barrow Street 

Headquarters in April 2006. Gilvarry says the whole area 

is taking off and it’s working out as a great location to do 

business. “We are part of the new legal quarter on the 

southside but we are in the Canal Basis, not on the 

Quays.” 

Mason Hayes+Curran is the only Irish legal 

practice that publicly declares its revenues. It 

was an interesting move to make and one which 

caused some eyebrow-raising when it first 

released figures four years ago. The firm had a 

turnover in excess of €20 million in 2003 – the 

first year for which its figures were published. 

Its turnover has steadily increased over the past 

few years, resulting in its 2007 figures topping 

€32.4 million. She says it follows the UK and 

international trend. “Not only do many leading 

UK law firms publish their turnover but they 

publish the average profit per partner. US law 

firms do the same thing. Secondly, our clients 

like it. Many of them have to publish their 

figures and results. If they feel we’re doing the 

same, then that’s good.” 

“For us one of the issues is differentiating the firm from 

your competitors and publishing our results makes a 

differentiating factor. It is also positive PR. The business 

media like it. It’s open and transparent. And its good 

news for us too so far. We have increased revenue by 

43% since we moved to Barrow Street. Moving to a new 

building gives a law firm a bounce. We underestimated 

the bounce which was a nice surprise. Clients like to see 

you doing well. They align themselves to you because 

when you’re a success story you’ll make them a success 

story” says Gilvarry. It will be interesting to see the next 

set of figures for MH+C as their financial year is from 

April to March so the 2008/09 figures will include six 

months of trading with Arthur O’Hagan. 

Growth in existing business 

The new Managing Partner is cautiously confident of its 

growth prospects despite the recent down turn in the 

economy. Gilvarry says that MHC will continue to 

develop new practice areas, always trying to anticipate 

client needs, as well as enhancing existing activities. 

“New practice areas are good for the firm. Take 

construction – we have a dedicated team. That is now 

lead by Rory Kirrane and he and his team are dedicated 

to specialist areas like Public Private Partnerships and 

Energy. The team draws from lawyers in the Real Estate 

and Financial Services departments for complex project 

work. 

Healthcare is another area. “We act for the Clinical 

Indemnity Scheme and have a unique practice area in 

Clinical Risk Management.” 

According to Gilvarry transactions in their Corporate 

Department are strong. “We act for the Kerry Group in its 

proposed acquisition of Breeo Foods. We also acted for 

Perlico in its sale to Vodafone and we advised Origin 

Enterprises on its initial public offering. Turnover in our 

Corporate department rose by 23 per cent last year” she 

says. 

“We’re a diverse practice in terms of our practice areas. 

There is a real mix in terms of turnover which provides 

much comfort in these challenging times. We’re not 

relying on any one particular area to keep us right. We 

don’t just practice the law; we practice the business of 

law. There’s an entrepreneurial spirit here” she 

concluded. 

Brighten up your New 

Year with The 

D.S.B.A. BALL 

Saturday 24th January 2009 

The Four Seasons Hotel 

Black Tie 

From 7.30pm to Late 

Tickets always sold out many weeks in advance 

due to demand and limited availability 

so book now 

PARCHMENT 22 



Debt collection 

the New 

Coca-Cola. 

An owner of a local magazine approached me one day 

and asked if I would sell some advertising for his 

magazine. I said, “No problem, how hard could it be?” 

He said that it would not be easy to sell because “it can’t 

all be Coca-Cola”. I must have had a look of confusion 

on my face because he said, “Coca-Cola sells itself”. 

When I thought about it, I released that he was right. 

He was right for a number of reasons. One of the 

reasons Coca-Cola sells itself is because if a vendor does 

not have it he is missing the revenue that it generates. 

Another is because the vendor is missing the 

opportunity to give his customers a product they want. 

Another reason also is that the vendor is running the 

risk of losing that customer to vendors who do have 

Coca-Cola on their shelves. 

There was another day when somebody asked what 

area of law I practised. Instead of saying litigation, as 

most eager lawyers would, I said debt collection, 

without evening thinking, as this was what I had 

devoted myself. I remember seeing a look on their face 

that I could only perceived as negative, it was like a 

look of distaste. I realised I should have said litigation. 

Now that people’s view on economics has changed, 

when asked what I do, I get a different response when I 

say debt collection. The most common response now 

being “I bet you’re busy” accompanied with a facial 

expression of interest. 

Our law firm operates exclusively in the area of debt 

collection. Other law firms regard debt collection as a 

very high priority in terms of generating their required 

revenue. Some law firms dabble in the area. Now days 

though almost all law firms provide some form of debt 

collection. This was not always the case. This might 

have been due to people’s negative perception of debt 

collection. However now that some other avenues of 

revenue have diminished for law firms, coupled with 

the fact that clients want to be sure to recover monies 

owed to them, law firms are moving into the area of 

debt collection in a more serious way. 

Debt has been around for hundreds of years, probably 

as long as there has been money. Debt has been a 

burden to many since then. In early Greece, debt was 

physically tied to bondage. A debtor would become the 

property of the lender if they were unable to repay their 

debts. In his wisdom Solon, the great lawgiver, passed a 

law in 594 B.C. that outlawed debt bondage and 

cancelled all outstanding debts. That was of course good 

news for those who owed money but not so, for those 

who had lent it. 1 

Coca-Cola has also been around a long time. Dr John 

Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in May 1886. Dr 

Pemberton made Coca-Cola in a three legged brass 

kettle in his back garden. I can see the look of distaste 


now, it is the same look that 

person had when I told them I 

worked in the area of debt collection. 

On the 8 May 1886 Coca-Cola was first sold 

in a pharmacy know as Jacobs. The product 

made a loss in the first year as it had sales of $50.00 but 

expenses of $70.00. Pemberton sold the formula to Asa 

Candler in 1887 for $2,300.00. 

It was in the Italian banking system in the 1300’s that 

modern lending got its start. Using a bill of exchange a 

bank could lend money, designate from among dozens 

of currencies and transport it safely over poorly 

guarded highways. Even if stolen, the robber could not 

cash it. Thus, 100 gold coins in a bank in Venice would 

be available for use in Florence. The bill of exchange 

was then the same as currency among merchants and 

lenders, further increasing the value of the initial gold 

coins. This type of lending was only available to the 

merchants and the nobles, so ordinary workers did not 

feel the benefits and burdens of debt. 2 

During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, the United 

States government encouraged banks and other 

institutions to lend money for modest homes and cars. 

To help achieve this end, the government backed and 

guaranteed low-interest loans. After World War II, 

government backed home loans became available for 

veterans. In the decade surrounding 1970, a half-dozen 

government agencies guaranteed home loans. In 1989, 

the federal government guaranteed nearly 40 percent of 

all home mortgages. In addition to mortgages, the 

government backed loans for education, to open a small 

business or operate a farm. With all the government 

programs and encouragement, nothing had the impact 

on consumer debt like an event that happened in 1950, 

the birth of the credit card. 3 

Asa Candler, the man who purchased the Coca-Cola 

formula, knew that advertising was important and 

aggressively marketed his new product. By the turn of 

the century, the drink was selling across the United 

States and Canada. Around the same time, the company 

began selling syrup to independent bottling companies 

licensed to sell the drink. Even today, the US soft drink 

industry organises itself on this principle. Thanks to 

Candlers, aggressive marketing the Coca-Cola brand 

had increased sales by 4000% at the turn of that 

century. 4 

In 1950, Frank McNamara of New York’s Hamilton 

Credit Corporation came up with the idea of giving 

affluent businesspersons a convenient way to charge 

business-related expenses. This saw the birth of the 

Diners Club card. The Diners Club card was pasteboard 

with the customer’s name on one side and a list of the 

twenty-seven restaurants that accepted it on the other. 

The first plastic cards came out in 1955 creating a 

completely new way of monetary exchange. 5 

American Express, the traveller’s check company, 

began issuing cards in 1958 followed by The Bank of 

America and their BankAmericacard. Because The Bank 

of America had California as its base of operation, the 

BankAmericard quickly became the most widely know 

card. Other smaller banks joined the BankAmericard 

system and the system continued to grow. In 

1977, the card underwent a name change and became 

Visa. By the 1990’s Visa was the largest credit card in 

use with nearly 400 million cards in circulation and 

more than 12 million businesses that accepted it. 6 

The trade secret of the new coke formula became 

unveiled to the world on the 23 April 1985. 

Now consumption of the Coca-Cola Company products 

is more than one billion drinks per day. 

Just as the Coca-Cola industry has grown so too has the 

credit industry. It is evident from the preceding text that 

from humble beginnings global phenomenons have 

developed. Be it the Italian banking, system in the 14 th 

Century or Dr Pemberton’s back garden in 1886. 

The credit industry may have taken a little longer to 

become the global phenomenon that Coca-Cola is but it 

has and is now one of the hottest topics for discussion. 

As the credit industry has apparently become 

unmanageable, it is time for people to rein it in. 

More people are getting involved in reining in credit 

because the circumstances of the market dictate. Whilst 

there once was a time, when being a debt collector may 

have left a bad taste in your mouth now successful debt 

collectors are heroes of society. Shareholders can be 

happy that their company is recovering the credit they 

had given to customers and thus able to receive a 

dividend. Consumers can be happy that they do not 

have to pay even higher prices for goods just to 

subsidise the losses suffered by the manufacturers 

because the loss of credit is recoverable. 

The success of Coca-Cola and success in debt collection 

requires a certain passion and commitment. The people 

who are successful in making Coca-Cola successful are 

successful because they have a passion for advertising 

and are committed to achieving the best they can. The 

people who succeed in debt collection are the people 

who are passionate about debt collection and are 

committed to achieving the best they can for their clients 

when it comes to debt collection. 

Therefore, now that I remember what the owner of the 

local magazine had said to me about it cannot all be 

Coca-Cola I think that debt collection must be the new 

Coca-Cola. There are a number of reasons for thinking 

this. One of the reasons debt collection sells itself is 

because if a law firm does not have it they are missing 

the revenue that it generates. Another is 

because the firm is missing the opportunity to give its 

customers a product they want. 

Another reason also is that 

the law firm is running the 

risk of losing that customer 

to another law firm who 

does have debt collection 

as one of its products. 

Liam Fitzgerald is a solicitor 

with A.B.Wolfe & Co. of 

Baggot Street. and a former 

member of the D.S.B.A. Council. 

1 

.www.ihatedebt.com, 2 www.ihatedebt.com 

3 

www.ihatedebt.com 4 http://inventors.about. 

com/od/cstartinventions/a/coca_cola.htm 

5 

www.ihatedebt.com, 6 www.ihatedebt.com 

Book Review 

Irish Family Law 

Handbook, Kennedy 

& Maguire, third 

edition, 2008, Tottel 

Publishing. 

Paperback €95.00. 

9 years after the first 

edition and 4 years 

since the 2 nd edition, 

Deirdre Kennedy and 

Elizabeth Maguire, 

both well known 

family law barristers, have updated their 

handbook, which should be the first 

publication any family law solicitor would 

consult to find the appropriate statute. An 

indication of the usefulness of the first two 

editions is the number of them that you 

will see family law barristers carrying with 

them in the Circuit Court, most of which 

are not library copies, but clearly battered 

from years of use. Now the upgrade has 

arrived. 

The legislation is divided into general 

family statutes containing the most used 

law such as the 1964 Guardianship of 

Infants Act, the Family Law Acts, the 

Divorce Act and the Children Act, 2001 as 

well as other many other statutes. There 

are also sections containing the Circuit and 

the Superior Court Rules as well as EU 

legislation. 

One of the difficulties for solicitors in 

keeping up to date with new legislation in 

the area of family law is that the 

amendments to family law statutes are 

often buried deep in a Civil Law act which 

amends a variety of other legislation as 

well. 

The advantage of using this handbook is 

that Kennedy & Maguire have very clearly 

marked all amendments to Acts so that 

when, for example, consulting the Divorce 

Act 1996 you can see the new Article 14(1) 

4A as inserted by the Civil Law 

Miscellaneous Provisisions Act, s.75a and 

unless you wish to laboriously update your 

own family law legislation I would 

strongly recommend the purchase of this 

book which is up to date and most 

importantly allows you the access the up to 

date statutes immediately. It is also a 

useful book to have in your briefcase, 

whatever the type of family law you 

practice. 

Keith Walsh 



Commentator 

Preservation and transfer of benefits in 

occupational pension schemes on 

termination of employment 

Eleanor Keville examines the options in this 

now very topical area of law. 

Overview of occupational pension schemes 

The term occupational pension scheme essentially covers 

any arrangement set up by an employer within the 

State to provide retirement and other benefits for one or 

more employees and which has been approved by 

Revenue under the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997. A 

scheme which has received Revenue approval means 

that any contributions made to the scheme by the 

employer or employee may be made on a tax free basis 

(subject to Revenue limits). 

Occupational pension schemes are usually governed by 

a trust deed and rules and are regulated by the 

Pensions Act 1990 (“the Act”). The Pensions Board 

oversees the operation of the Act in relation to the 

running of occupational pension schemes, trust based 

Retirement Annuity Contracts (RACs) and Personal 

Retirement Savings Accounts (PRSAs). 

Generally speaking, an occupational pension scheme 

will be one of two types; defined benefit or defined 

contribution. 

A defined benefit scheme is one in which the scheme 

rules promise a defined level of retirement benefit, 

usually related to the member’s final remuneration and 

service completed with the employer. For example a 

scheme may promise a pension to members at normal 

retirement age of 1/60 of final remuneration for each 

year of service completed with the employer. 

Defined contribution schemes provide a benefit at 

normal retirement date which is directly determined by 

the amount of the contributions paid by and/or in 

respect of the member. No promise is given with regard 

to the level of retirement benefit which will be provided 

for a member. 

Preserved benefits and qualifying service on 

termination of employment 

A member of an occupational pension scheme with the 

requisite period of qualifying service and whose 

employment is being terminated is afforded protection 

of the benefits accrued to the date of termination under 

Part III of the Act, the Second Schedule to the Act and 

Regulations made thereunder. 

These provisions give members of occupational pension 

schemes a statutory right to a minimum preserved 

benefit provided that the member’s service in relevant 

employment terminates otherwise than on death before 

normal pensionable age and provided that at the date 

of leaving the service of the employer the member has 

completed at least: 

(i) Five years’ qualifying service where service 

terminates on or before 1 June 2002. At least two of 

those years of qualifying service must have been 

completed after 1 January 1991 

(ii) Two years of qualifying service which fall after 1 

January 1991 where service in the relevant 

employment terminates on or after 2 June 2002. 

The reasoning behind the legislation is to provide an 

employee who leaves an occupational pension scheme 

before normal retirement age with a statutory 

entitlement to a proportionate share of the retirement 

benefits to which the employee would have been 

entitled had he or she remained in the service of the 

employer (and a member of the employer’s pension 

scheme) until normal retirement age. 

An employee with less than two years’ completed 

scheme service has no legal entitlement to any 

minimum retirement benefit. Such an employee might 

only be permitted to take a refund of the contributions 

he or she has made to the scheme (the employee will 

have received full tax relief on the original payments), 

less tax at the standard rate of income tax, currently 

20%. An employee who opts for such a refund 

automatically loses the right to benefit from any 

employer contributions. 

However, the rules of the scheme may well provide for 

full or partial entitlements to an employee with less 

than two years’ scheme service as there is nothing to 

prevent a scheme providing members with preserved 

benefits above the minimum scale of preserved benefits 

applicable under the legislation as long as they do not 

exceed Revenue maximum limits. 

A number of schemes are specifically excluded from the 

preservation requirements on the basis that the benefits 

which they provide on leaving service are no less 

favourable than those required by the Act 1 . In general 

these are public sector schemes and are listed in the 

Schedule to the Preservation of Benefits Regulations, 

2002 (SI 279/02) 

Service by an employee does not constitute qualifying 

service in certain instances including: 

where an employee is a scheme member for 

death-in-service only benefits 

where an employee is a member of a scheme which 

is not approved by Revenue (unless the scheme is a 

public sector scheme) 

A refund of a member’s contributions is not permitted 

on leaving service for any period for which a preserved 

benefit under the Act is provided. 

Continuity of service 

To determine whether an employee has the requisite 

two years’ service to qualify for a statutory preserved 

benefit under the Act, account is taken of: 

- any period of prior service with a previous 

employer of whose pension scheme the employee 

was a member and; 

- from which pension scheme a transfer value has 

been received into the current scheme to provide 

retirement benefits for the employee 

An example of the above would be where an employee 

works for employer X for three years and was included 

in that employer’s pension scheme for retirement 

benefits for a period of three years. The employee is 

made redundant and subsequently commences 

employment with employer Y and joins the company 

pension scheme for retirement benefits. The employee 

exercises his or her option to have the transfer value of 

his or her accumulated pension fund paid to employer 

Y’s pension scheme from employer X’s pension scheme. 

The employee leaves the employment of company Y 

one year later with an entitlement to a statutory 

preserved benefit from employer Y’s pension scheme as 

even though his or her service with employer Y is less 

than two years, the scheme service completed by the 

employee with employer X is taken into account in 

determining whether the qualifying service 

requirement is fulfilled. 

The transfer does not have to take place directly 

following the termination of employment with the first 

employer. If the employee were to, for example exercise 

his or her option to transfer his or her fund to a 

buy-out-bond and at a later stage join an employer 

where an occupational pension scheme is in place and 

where the trustees are willing to accept a transfer of the 

proceeds of the buy-out-bond, the earlier period of 

service with the first employer must be taken into 

account in determining whether the member qualifies 

for a preserved benefit if he or she subsequently leaves 

the employment to which the second scheme applies. 

Special provisions apply in situations in which an 

employee has had periods of service in more than one 

scheme relating to the same employment. Generally 

speaking, such an employee is entitled to an aggregate 

preserved benefit which is no less than the aggregate 

preserved benefit to which he or she would have been 

entitled if his or her periods of reckonable service in the 

various schemes had each related to different 

employments. 

Trustees’ obligations on termination of relevant 

employment 

Under Article 14 and Schedule E, Occupational Pension 

Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations, 2006 

(SI 301/2006) certain information on the benefits under 

an occupational pension scheme must be made 

available by scheme trustees to an employee on request 

while in relevant employment and when relevant 

employment terminates. It is often the case in many 

smaller schemes that the employer acts as the trustee 

and employers in such circumstances should be 

mindful of the obligations the Act places on them in 

their capacity as trustees. 


Such information is generally set out in a leaving 

service options letter prepared by the administrator of 

the scheme. 

For defined contribution schemes the letter should 

contain: 

the value of the accumulated contributions paid by 

or on behalf of the member; 

a full explanation of the rights and options available 

to the member on leaving service; 

whether and in what circumstances a refund of 

contributions is available, how such refund would 

be calculated and an estimate of the amount, if any; 

whether any transfer value is available and if so, an 

estimate of the transfer value and the accrued rights 

to which it relates; 

the procedures for claiming benefits; 

if a transfer value has been paid by the trustees 

without the consent of the member the name and 

address of the scheme or life company to which the 

benefit has been paid 

For defined benefit schemes the letter should contain: 

the amount of preserved benefit to which the 

member is entitled under the Pensions Act and in 

accordance with the rules of the scheme; 

the amount of any other benefits payable under the 

rules of the scheme 

the date or dates on which such benefits become 

payable; 

whether there is an option to have alternative 

benefits payable immediately, with details of same; 

the provision for increases in such benefits and the 

extent to which increases are discretionary. If there 

is no provision for increases this must be stated 

Under Disclosure of Information Regulations, this 

information should be automatically provided to the 

member who leaves service with a preserved benefit 

within two months of leaving service. 

An employee who has not received leaving service 

options from the scheme trustees should immediately 

request same. The scheme trustees are obliged to 

provide the requested information to the employee 

within two months of such a request. An employee can 

also look elsewhere for information about their pension 

rights and benefits such as their contract of 

employment, the member’s explanatory leaflet which 

the employee would have received upon being 

admitted to the pension scheme (which the employee 

should ensure is current/up to date) and the most 

recent Annual Benefit Statement. 

What happens if an employer terminates the 

pension scheme or the company is liquidated? 

While an employer most likely has every intention of 

continuing its pension scheme indefinitely, generally an 

employer will reserve the right under the rules of the 

scheme to discontinue or amend the pension scheme at 

any time. The trust structure means that the assets of 

the scheme are held separately from the assets of the 

employer and any contributions to the scheme by the 

employer and employee are safe from creditors in the 

event of the liquidation of the company. This is one of 

the reasons that most pension schemes are set up under 

trust, and that pension schemes must be set up under 

trust in order to be approved by Revenue. 




Entitlement to a preserved benefit also arises 

where the employment does not terminate, but a 

scheme ceases to relate to that employment for 

example a scheme which is wound up and not 

replaced. In such a case, the trustees are entitled to 

make a compulsory transfer of preserved benefits 

to a PRSA, buy out bond or another occupational 

pension scheme provided, in the case of a defined 

benefit scheme that the transfer value would not 

be reduced by reason of the scheme failing to meet 

the funding standard 2 . 

The employer may not exercise any charge or lien 

on a member’s preserved benefit, even if a debt to 

the employer arises out of a criminal, negligent or 

fraudulent act or omission by the member. 

Transfer options in respect of preserved 

benefits 

Broadly, members leaving service prior to normal 

retirement age due to redundancy or any other 

reason can opt to: 

keep their accumulated benefits in their former 

employer’s pension scheme for upto two years 

after leaving service. After two years the 

trustees can potentially make a compulsory 

transfer to another arrangement for the 

individual if the transfer value is less than 

€10,000 or if the Pensions Board approve an 

application to make such a compulsory transfer 

transfer the value of their accumulated 

contributions to the occupational pension 

scheme of a new employer if the trustees of 

such a scheme are willing and able to accept a 

transfer 

transfer to a Revenue approved policy or 

contract with an insurance company 

The Pensions (Amendment) Act, 2002 provides 

additional options for transfer to: 

an unfunded scheme (most public sector 

schemes are unfunded) where trustees are 

willing and able to accept the transfer 

a PRSA subject to the employee not having had 

more than 15 years’ scheme service with the 

employer whose service they are leaving (or in 

another scheme related to the same 

employment or connected employment). 

Transfer values in respect of AVC benefits can 

always be transferred to a PRSA, irrespective of 

the length of scheme service. 

The provisions on preservation and transfer of 

benefits are some of the most complex in the Act. 

A member leaving service should consider their 

options carefully and seek advice if necessary. 

Trustees and employers should be aware of the 

obligations on them to provide accurate and timely 

options to a scheme member leaving service. 

Eleanor Keville is a solicitor in the Employment Law 

Department of Mason, Hayes + Curran solicitors. 

1 

From www.pensionsboard.ie 

2 

For details on the funding standard see www.pensionsboard.ie 

The Solicitor Executor 

At a recent meeting with Annette O’Connell, the Probate 

Registrar, she made reference to an emerging trend 

among some Solicitors firms to put themselves forward 

as a matter of practice as executors in clients’ wills. The 

committee’s attention has been drawn in recent times to 

an apparent emerging practice among some of our 

colleagues who are not satisfied to volunteer to act as 

executors. They make the will on the condition that they 

act. Furthermore, in some cases, they charge a premium 

for the appointment itself. This has led, in some cases, to 

members of the public believing that the appointment of 

a solicitor as an executor is not simply a matter of choice 

but a requirement. Any such practice tarnishes us all. 

Linda Kirwan of the Complaints and Client Relations 

Section of the Law Society has also expressed concern 

about complaints received from clients of the profession 

in cases where solicitors act as solicitors and executors. 

These complaints vary from widows, wishing to make 

personal applications, meeting a stubborn solicitor 

appointee, to residuary beneficiaries faced with surprise 

legal bills without the benefit of Section 68 letters to 

solicitor/executors acting where there is a dispute 

amongst the beneficiaries . On the solicitors’ side, of 

course, there is another problem she has frequently 

encountered and that relates to Section 82 of the 

Succession Act where solicitors, having been appointed 

as executors either omit a charging clause or, having 

inserted the charging clause, then proceed to witness the 

will, thereby invalidating the charging clause. 

I take the view, as do many of my colleagues, that the 

appointment of a solicitor as executor should be the 

exception rather than the rule. Common sense generally 

suggests that:- 

In wills involving spouses, in most cases, the other 

spouse should appropriately be the sole executor. 

It is then better to appoint a near relative to act 

It is better to appoint one who will benefit under the 

will, on the principle that the grant follows the 

interest 

It is better to choose one likely to outlive the testator 

It is better to pick a second 

The executor should preferably be resident in the State 

We sometimes come across another situation where a 

clause appears in a will directing the employment of a 

particular firm of solicitors. While this may have a 

persuasive influence it should not be relied upon as it 

will be regarded as precatory in nature only. 

The probate & tax committee of the DSBA would like to 

hear from members who have experienced difficulties in 

this area or who would like guidance. 

Justin McKenna,Chairman, Probate & Tax Committee 

Dublin Solicitors Bar Association 

Not all insurance Policies are the same. 

On the face of it, this probably sounds like stating the 

obvious to the learned readers of the Parchment 

magazine. But what about your own insurance Policies 

and in particular your office combined insurance? 

Consider for a moment when you last did any of the 

following in relation to your own insurance cover: 

Read the Policy Wording 

Considered the implications of terms & conditions 

Thought what might happen if you have to make a 

claim 

Checked the market yourself for cheaper 

alternatives 

Attempted to secure wider Policy cover for the same 

price 

Compared your current providers offering against 

that of their competitors 

Asked new entrants to the market for a price & 

cover comparison 

For the majority of cases, the reality is that you 

probably have not done this for a long time. 

Consequently, you are most likely not securing the best 

deal from your Insurer. In today’s world we all operate 

to tight deadlines, demanding schedules and ever more 

expectant clients. Having to also deal with the above 

takes time and you quite rightly expect your current 

insurance broker to do this work for you. But if you 

haven’t done any of this for a long time, you certainly 

run the risk that your insurance broker has not either. 

Complacency affects us all. 

Getting the best deal from your Insurer involves the 

following and most definitely in this order of priority – 

1. Ensuring your Policy cover adequately caters for 

your needs 

2. Securing competitive and value for money pricing 

from the market 

3. Delivery of a professional, quality service from your 

broker / Insurer 

The best and simplest way to achieve this is to seek out 

a professional insurance broker and ask them to check 

the market for you. But beware, like insurance Policies, 

not all insurance brokers are the same. Be sure the 

broker has the technical ability and depth of experience 

Getting the Best 

Deal from Your 

Insurer 

Michael Cronin is the Managing Director of Cronin Insurance 

Brokers Ltd and has spent over 21 years working in the 

Insurance Industry in Ireland. Cronin was the recipient of the 

Corrigan & Corrigan Solicitors Award for the Liability 


to read the small print and consider the implications of 

the cover and its conditions on your behalf. Do not be 

duped into simply accepting the cheapest price. 

For example, do you have a suitable degree of cover 

for- 

1. Loss of Keys/Replacement Locks 

2. Damage to Documents in Transit – including Deeds, 

Wills and Agreements 

3. Fire Brigade Charges 

4. Public Utilities Extension 

5. Assault Cover for Cash Transits 

6. Liability Cover including ‘mental 

injury/anguish/shock’ 

7. Wrongful Arrest 

What about Conditions & Clauses? 

1. Are Minimum Security Precautions inserted that 

you are not aware of 

2. Do you comply with Conditions around money left 

on the premises overnight 

3. What are the Custodian Conditions for cash transits 

These are just a small sample of covers and Conditions 

you need to be aware of! 

So does all this extra cover cost a fortune? The simple 

answer is; No. Enhancements in cover always evolve 

over the years and these are available to you now. 

Maybe even at less than you are paying currently! 

So the key is to shop around and test your price and 

cover against what you are currently being offered. It is 

only through choosing a quality and technically 

proficient insurance broker that you will truly achieve 

the best deal from your Insurer while ensuring your 

Policy still protects you. 

Cronin Insurance Brokers Ltd 

Unit 2, Grange Road Office Park, 

Grange Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16 

T: + 353 1 495 4008, F: + 353 1 493 1121 

E: info@cronininsurances.ie 

W: www.cronininsurances.ie 



Book Review 

Brian Smith is in private practice as a Psychologist, Family Therapist 

& Mediator, he is also Collaborative Practitioner, working with 

couples, and their lawyers and other specialists. He is well known to 

solicitors particularly for his work as a Guardian Ad Litem over the 

years in the Courts. He was involved in the publication: ‘Giving 

Children a Voice’ - Best Practice Guidelines for Guardian ad Litem 

system in Ireland and is a Member of the statutory Expert Panel of 

consultants to the Irish Children Acts Advisory Board. Tel. 01 8512027. 

E-mail:familyconsultancy@gmail.com 

Five minutes with….. 

Peggy O'Leary of the Family Law Committee 

in conversation with Stuart Gilhooly 

Continuing our series of interviewing one member of each of the DSBA’s specialist committees, 

Peggy O’Leary found time in between daily communion and ironing her husband’s boxer shorts to 

talk us about her experience on one of the association’s most vibrant committees. 

‘When Parents Split’ 

Glynis Good, 2008, Blackhall 

Publishing, paperback €15.00. 

The parchment decided to review 

this book as it seems to be an ideal 

resource which family lawyers may 

wish to give to their clients. While 

the area covered is not strictly legal, 

it does form part of the landscape 

within which lawyers operate. We 

asked well known family therapist 

Brian Smith to review the book for 

our readers. KW. 

Glynis Good’s very accessible book for teenagers “When Parents Split” sets out to offer 

“support, information and encouragement” and it certainly does that. Primarily for teens, it will 

be useful also to separating parents who want to be tuned in to their teenage children’s needs 

regarding the separation. 

Starting with the common experience of shock on hearing of their parents’ separation, it goes on 

to normalize the difficulty teenagers then have in carrying on with the usual “independence” 

tasks of adolescence. Instead they are faced with their parents’ distress, and the difficult 

processes of decision-making going on around them, often accompanied by feelings of 

powerlessness. 

Common difficulties talking to one or both parents are acknowledged as well as issues of blame 

or divided loyalty and worries about what the living arrangements will be, or their relationship 

with a parent who will move out of the family home. The need to talk about these issues is 

highlighted and advice on having their voice heard. 

Teenagers often lose the ability to concentrate in school when there is turmoil at home, and there 

are practical tips given to help with this, including “permission” to access support within the 

school, thus avoiding the more common sanctioning for poor performance. 

There is advice for the teen on how to avoid being caught up in their parents’ conflict and anger 

while maintaining their relationship with each parent separately and understanding their 

parents’ distress at an age-appropriate level. The common experience of anger felt by teenagers 

themselves in the midst of the turmoil is also addressed. There’s practical advice on how to 

avoid common unhealthy roles such as emotional caretaker, peacekeeper, messenger, mediator 

or advocate on behalf of one or other parent. 

There’s a section on how teenagers can deal with parents’ new partners, and the experience of 

blended families. Common issues around festive and other special occasions are also explored. 

There’s a section on the “child at risk” aspects of family conflict such as alcoholism, domestic 

violence and sexual abuse. Assurance is given that in these situations teens have both rights and 

means to safety and protection, and they are not responsible for “fixing” the problem. 

Throughout the book there are vignettes and teenagers’ own comments and opinions, and it 

finishes with a teen-friendly glossary of legal terminology and court processes, and a directory 

of support services including counselling and help-lines. 

So, Peggy, word has it family law has been having a hard time of it late, what with no 

houses selling and the parties fighting all of the time 

Yes, it’s been very tough but I don’t really believe in divorce or separation anyway. It’s against God’s will 

and I think families should stay together. 

Yes, Peggy, that’s very laudable but does that not make being a 

family lawyer rather difficult? 

No, my job is to keep the family unit intact. And I always remind 

them that a family that prays together stays together. 

Hmmm, that’s very useful advice, Peggy but what 

about the kids? Sometimes, separation is just 

better for them if the parents are fighting 

all the time? 

I don’t like kids anyway. Pesky little things broke 

the rose bushes in my front garden. Cyril and I 

decided long ago that we would be better 

off without them and concentrate on practising 

our faith in family law. 

And what about the Committee itself, rumour has it that it’s no place for the 

faint-hearted? 

It sure isn’t. You have to have your handbag with you when the cat-fights start and that’s pretty much every 

meeting. Some of the ladies have very expensive ones but they're not as durable as mine. Forty six years of 

beating Cyril over the head hasn’t damaged it one bit. 

And finally, Peggy, it being Christmas 

and all who would you like to kiss 

under the mistletoe? 

Cyril, I guess? 

Oh no, I never kiss Cyril. 

He’s all tongues and hands. I do like that Geoffrey 

Shannon though. He has that schoolboy 

innocence about him and a good Catholic boy 

but I bet he’s a great snog. 



SOAPBOX 

SOAPBOX 

Managing Your 

Personal 

Finances in 

Testing Times 

In my most recent articles, I have discussed various 

planning opportunities available to the modern law 

firm. This has included managing your debt in a format 

that suits you rather than your lender, which we all 

appreciate is much a harder task in today’s 

environment than it might previously have been, and 

implementing a company structure that allows you to 

use the higher levels of relief available to company 

directors. Both of these strategies require a certain 

degree of ‘legwork’, either in collating your personal 

and practice finances or by sitting with the relevant 

advisors to plan the most suitable approach for you. 

This can sometimes involve both time and money. For 

something a little different, my article today revolves 

around a low cost, minimum fuss method of improving 

your overall financial wellbeing. 

For the vast majority of you, the bulk of your ‘wealth’ 

will be tied into two primary asset classes – your 

property portfolio and your pension(s). The current 

market environment has seen the values of these assets 

almost uniformly plummet, resulting in fear and 

confusion, especially for those looking to retire in the 

near future. It is not my intention to outline the cause 

and effect of these collapses – the media in general has 

done more than enough of that, but rather offer some 

practical solutions in the short term that may alleviate 

some of this uncertainty for you as an individual. 

When it comes to the property question, unfortunately 

the only solution available to the vast majority is to ‘sit 

and wait’. While the cyclical nature of the housing 

market, and most other markets for that matter, is well 

known, there is still no indication that we have hit the 

floor and as such there may be further devaluation 

ahead. Thus the implications for capital values remain 

grim. At the same time however, recent interest rate 

movements should have had positive effects on cash 

flow, and if commentators are to be believed there may 

be more in the coming weeks and months. As a result, 

now may be the right time to take stock of your 

mortgage debt. It is true that the banks have become 

very cautious in their approach to lending, despite 

protests to the contrary, but that should not stop you 

picking up the phone and calling either your lender or 

an independent broker to see what the best rates on the 

market are for you. 

Another area I want to spend more time on in this 

article is pension planning. At the moment, the whole 

pension arena is making it to the front page of our 

newspapers, and various experts are filling up the 

airwaves with advice on how to best avoid seeing your 

retirement benefits wiped out. Some opinion seems to 

be that you would almost be better off drawing on 

practice funds as income, paying the tax and putting 

the remainder in some secure account. Unfortunately 

this argument, of which there have been many 

proponents, especially in the accounting industry, 

conveniently forgets the fact that despite the current 

collapse in markets, the tax breaks attached to 

retirement planning continue to make one of the most 

effective techniques in transferring your firm’s profits 

into your own back pocket. That said, the pension 

industry itself is certainly due some forensic and critical 

analysis, both from the perspective of fund 

performance and the continuing issue of charges. 

As any professional investor will tell you, hindsight is 

rarely worth the paper its written on. Nonetheless, it is 

worth remembering that while the news over the past 

year has concentrated on some of the short, sharp 

shocks to the system, for most funds 2008 has also seen 

a gradual decline in prices, such that, taken as a whole, 

the trend for 2008 was one of devaluation. In this 

instance, you as an investor must be permitted to ask 

your providers some key questions. Firstly, why were 

existing funds were kept in a rapidly decreasing 

portfolio despite most commentators agreeing that the 

likelihood of a short term bounce back were 

diminishing by the day? More galling again, for those 

of you who make regular contributions to your 

pension, why did your investment manager continue to 

purchase equities in a time of contrition? 

The answers provided by the institutions in response 

generally centre on two main themes: ‘cementing’ a 

loss, and the purchasing of ‘cheaper units’. The first 

point, correctly, notes that if one pulls their investment 

from an equity fund following its collapse, and then 

puts the money into a low yield location (such as a 

bank account), the original losses will never be made 

back up, thereby cementing them. However this 

argument assumes that this low yield ‘account’ will be 

the final resting place for the fund, when a more 

intelligent approach would be to wait until the markets 

have found some form of normality, and then return to 

them, at which point an attempt to regain the previous 

losses can be taken. Similarly, the notion that because a 

particular fund has seen a sharp drop in value 

automatically implies that it alone has the best chance 

to make a subsequent recovery is deeply flawed. One 

should never simply assume that the aforementioned 

‘cycles’ in markets will apply to all sectors, locations or 

asset classes uniformly. Those of you who were 

invested in technology based investments from 2000 to 

2002 will surely recognise that. Finally, while the 

response to regular investors, about the ‘smoothing’ 

effect of purchasing units or shares in a depressed 

market, also rings true in theory, I would contend that 

you rarely hear that same institutions ‘financial advisor’ 

recommend that you stop buying stocks when the 

market is peaking! 

So if the fund arguments provided by the pension 

companies can be quite easily rebuffed by some 

common sense analysis, then no doubt the issue of fees 

and charges is one that has also been addressed right? 

Of course not. Throughout all the recent discussions 

about stocks, shares, funds and the like, at no point 

have the institutions raised the idea of forgoing 

management fees while that very management has seen 

your future income eroded. It must be remembered that 

while markets will always fluctuate, the only constant 

impediment to growth is cost, yet this is the one ‘grey’ 

area when it comes to selecting the destination for your 

retirement provision. 

At this stage you may be saying to yourself, ‘OK, I 

understand that my current situation is dire, not likely 

to improve of its own accord, and ultimately in the 

hands of a stranger who understands little of my own 

financial needs and yet charges me for the privilege. 

What can I do?’. The answer is ‘Plenty, actually’. 

In recent years, there has been substantial growth in the 

numbers of company directors availing of Small Self 

Administered Schemes. These are one person company 

pensions, where the control is maintained by the 

individual in question and some independent trustee 

company. 

Away from the traditional insured pension contract, 

recent years have seen a move to alternative pension 

structures. The attraction is simple. You are in charge 

not only of the timing of how much you contribute but, 

much more importantly, you separate the tax 

“avoidance” need from your investment decisions. In 

other words you can make a contribution which is fully 

tax allowable but you are free to decide how you wish 

to invest the monies whenever you like. These 

structures are available to everyone and the type of 

structure will depend on how you earn your income. 

a. Small Self Administered Scheme (SSAS) 

This tax free structure is designed to allow owner 

directors of a company to benefit from the tax relief 

associated with making a pension contribution but 

recognises the desire to control how the proceeds are 

subsequently invested. Any entrepreneur understands 

how difficult it is to make money and yet for the 

majority of people the traditional pension approach is 

asking them to then give that money to someone else 

and let them decide how it be invested. In the UK, 69% 

of business owners have SSASs or equivalent structures 

but here in Ireland that figure is less than 7%. This is 

despite that fact that our current pension rules are more 

flexible than those in the UK. 

b. Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) 

For those who are self employed, you have the ability 

to also take charge of your monies and investment 

decisions by using a Self Invested Personal Pension 

(SIPP). This structure affords you similar flexibility 

about investing your pension contributions without 

having to rely on the traditional fund options offered 

by the insurance companies. As people who are self 

employed you too have a right to separate the tax 

avoidance through a pension contribution from the 

need to make an investment decision at the same time. 

In general the default ‘fund’ for a SIPP is some form of 

deposit account. At your own leisure you are then free 

to create any type of portfolio you like, incorporating 

shares, cash, property, bonds and more. Certain 

restrictions apply when choosing different assets to 

invest in, so make sure you or your advisor are versed 

on the revenue rules surrounding this type of structure. 

One of the key things to note, especially considering 

most self employed individuals have made their 

pension contribution already for 2008, is that you are 

entitled to look at amalgamating all of your existing 

pension funds into these retirement funding structures 

and thereby control all of your contributions. There are 

very strict rules in place to prevent pension companies 

erecting barriers to this practice, and in most cases the 

cost of this transfer will be minimal if at all. Some older 

policies may have benefits attached to them however, 

so it is important to analyse each plan individually 

before determining the merits of a transfer. 

Needless to say, when getting advice on this matter, the 

absolute independence of your broker is a must. They 

must outline to you any upfront costs likely to be 

incurred, management charges if they exist, and any 

risks inherent in moving a multitude of disparate 

policies into the one location. 

In summary, the financial markets will have their day 

again, and you have the chance to benefit if you take 

the time to introduce proper financial structures and 

learn how to better drive your existing financial 

resources. This means finding the right location and 

then taking the time with an expert to work out what 

the right portfolio is for you. 

Ross Curran – Associate Director, Dublin Financial 

Engineering Network Limited. Tel 01 6148034, e-mail 

rcurran@fen.ie 





DSBA AGM - NO INCREASE IN DSBA SUBS IN 2009 

- MICHAEL QUINLAN’S FAREWELL - ELECTION RESULTS - 

KEVIN O’HIGGINS TAKES OVER AS PRESIDENT 

The AGM of the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association took 

place in the Westbury Hotel on October 21 st 2008. A 

capacity crowd of almost 100 solicitors attended the 

meeting which signalled the end of Michael Quinlan’s 

year as President. 

There were no motions in advance and so the treasurer, 

Stuart Gilhooly gave the good news that the 

membership fee would not be increased for next year. 

The much-anticipated election of the officer board then 

took place. John P. O’Malley was deemed elected to the 

position of Vice President; Helen Coffey was deemed 

elected to the position of Secretary and Stuart Gilhooly 

1. 

was deemed elected as Treasurer. 

Geraldine Kelly was elected to the 

position of Programme’s Director. 

Michael Quinlan as outgoing President 

paid tribute to all his colleagues on the 

DSBA Council. He commended the 

work of the various committees and 

mentioned the value such committees 

give to the profession. For example, the 

Family Law Committee drafted a 

precedent Deed of Separation and the 

Commercial Law Committee are 

finalising a precedent share purchase 

agreement. 

Michael also spoke about the task force 

2. 3. 

established to decide the 

future of the Dublin Solicitor’s 

Bar Association and said their 

report is due out by the end of 

December 2008. 

A secret ballot vote was then 

taken for the election of 

candidates to the Council of 

the DSBA. There were eleven 

candidates for ten positions 

on the Council. 

Thank you’s 

Michael Quinlan praised the 

efforts of the young members 

4. 

committee and the involvement of the younger solicitors who make 

up over half of today’s profession. 

The outgoing President spoke highly of the excellent CPDs run by 

the DSBA throughout the year and the trojan work done by Helene 

Coffey and her terrific organisational skills. 

Michael Quinlan then paid tribute to Maura Smith who is at the 

helm of the DSBA’s new offices on Harcourt Street along with Ann 

and Elaine and thanked them for their continued hard work and 

dedication. Keith Walsh was thanked in absentia for his sterling 

work on the Parchment Magazine and he was unavoidably absent 

from this year’s AGM due to his honeymoon. 

The outgoing President thanked Geraldine Kelly for organising a 

great year of social events which culminated in the hugely successful 

6. 

5. 

annual ball in the Four Seasons Hotel 

last January. John Glynn was also 

thanked for being the driving force 

behind the DSBA’s website. 

In conclusion, Michael said that 

September’s annual conference in 

China was without doubt the 

highlight of his year as President and 

in his closing remarks he thanked his 

family, friends and colleagues for a 

terrific year. 

With that, he handed over the 

President’s chain of office to Kevin 

O’Higgins. Kevin paid tribute to 

Michael Quinlan by saying that he 

represented the association with great 

distinction. “Michael will be a hard 

act to follow. He had a tremendous 

year. He established the DSBA in its 

new home on Harcourt Street; was 

central to the recruitment of key 

additional staff; and oversaw growth 

in our CPD courses.” 

“We appreciate your work and your 

efforts Michael. You have earned our 

fullest commendation” said 

O’Higgins. 

New President 

The new President then thanked 

everyone present for their support. 

Kevin recalled how the DSBA was 

7. 

1. Kevin and Michael in discussion at the 

AGM 2. Gilhooly announces no increase in 

DSBA subs for members in 2009. 3. Claire 

O'Regan and her boss James MacGuill at the 

AGM. 4. Enjoying the AGM. 5. Attending 

the AGM 6. At the AGM. 

7. Helene Coffey and Geraldine Kelly in good 

form at the AGM. 8. Kevin O'Higgins, Maura 

Smith of the DSBA office and Past President 

97/98 Ruadhan Killeen. 9. Paddy Kelly and 

colleagues share a a laugh at the AGM. 

.8. 

formed by a group of solicitors working out of the Bridewell Court in the 

1930s. 

“The DSBA’s founding principals was on help and assistance to each 

other and the interests of its members were at its core. It is my aim to 

follow in that vein and my mantra will be ‘collegiality’.” 

Kevin O’Higgins then recollected that it was Justin McKenna who first 

encouraged him in the DSBA all those years ago. The popular 

dickie-bowed Blackrock practitioner got him involved on a DSBA sub 

committee all those years ago and then in 1995 Ruadhan Killeen asked 

the now President to stand for Council. 

“I have been honorary secretary for seven years serving under Presidents 

from Helen Sheedy to Brian Gallagher. It has been a great privilege to be 

involved with the DSBA over the years” he said. 

The new President said that it is changed times and there is now a 

greater accountability demanded of the profession on all sides. He spoke 

about the dual role of the Law Society and emphatically stated his 

preference that we continue to be regulated by the Law Society as “they 

have the best understanding of what our job is all about.” 

O’Higgins set out his vision for the year ahead which would include 

working more closely with the membership; to continue the charitable 

aims of the DSBA and encourage new members to join. He praised the 

three upcoming Practice Management Seminars and described them as 

“very different and worthwhile”. He praised the work of Pauline 

O’Donovan who was stepping down this year from Council after many 

years of great service. “I am very grateful to Pauline and all the work she 

has done on the precedent documentation. Such work is of real value to 

people in practice.” 

He asked people to note that the annual dinner dance will be held in the 

Four Seasons Hotel, Ballsbridge on Saturday 24 th January 2009. He said 

that on that occasion he would announce the location and venue for the 

2009 DSBA Annual Conference. 

In conclusion, Kevin thanked so many members for attending the AGM 

and commented that the Dublin Solicitors Bar Association was a very 

healthy one and that this would continue under his tenure. 

Election Results 

Outgoing Council members John Glynn, Alma Sheehan, Keith Walsh, 

Eamonn Shannon, Claire O’Regan, Paddy Kelly and Geraldine Kelly 

were all returned elected. Three new Council members were deemed 

elected and these were Julie Doyle, John Geary and Grainne Whelan. 




AOB 

‘Any Other Business’ saw Kevin O’Higgins welcome 

the Director General of the Law Society, Ken Murphy; 

President of the Law Society James MacGuill and 

President-elect of the Law Society John Shaw. 

John O’Malley was called upon to announce the winner 

of the Awards of Excellence. There was no winner of 

the ‘under five years’ category. Michael Shiel who runs 

a general practice in Blackrock was 

announced the worthy winner of the ‘five 

years plus’ category. Michael was 

praised for his collegiality, courtesy and 

integrity. He received a very warm 

response when the award was 

announced. 

The President of the Law Society James 

MacGuill then addressed the assembled 

solicitors. He described the current 

climate as ‘difficult’ for solicitors. He said 

that they are monitoring the situation 

with the banks so that our members 

“weren’t being strangled”. He said that 

the Law Society was working with the 

various providers in regard to the greater 

increase on insurance premiums that will 

soon take effect. 

MacGuill spoke about the pending Legal 

Ombudsman Bill and said that the 

“Government does not have the appetite 

to dismantle the Solicitors Acts.” Other 

issues discussed by the Law Society 

President included the erosion of the 

Certificate of Title and Bar Council proposal regarding 

fee estimates from Barristers. MacGuill announced that 

the Law Society Annual Conference would take place 

in Bilbao, Spain in April 2009 and it has been shortened 

from a 4-day event to 3 days. 

“In these difficult times we will continue to invest in 

training. It is the way to beat the recession” he 

concluded. 

John Geary 

.9. 

Young Members 

The Fifth Annual DSBA/SYS Table Quiz took place 

on the 20 th November last at the Alexander Hotel. A 

hugely popular event and this year the uptake of 

tables did not surprise, with over 53 teams 

competing for the coveted DSBA/SYS Table Quiz 

Cup. A total of just under €5,000 was raised for the 

Emer Casey Foundation. John Gill of MOP and a 

former colleague of Emer’s spoke on behalf of the 

foundation. 

A strong team from McCann Fitzgerald took home 

the Cup. The team was made up of Ray Clarke, Seán 

Barton, Gareth O’Brien and Jenney Mellerick. In 

second place was the team from Donal Taaffe & Co. 

The Younger Members would like to thank all our 

members who attended, took part and bought all 

those raffle tickets. In particular we would like to 

thank our main Sponsors Brightwater Recruitment 

who’s Eileen Moloney and Mike Shoebridge, 

Quizmaster, ran the night with expert precision. We 

would also like to extend a sincere thanks to all 

those people who sponsored raffle prizes. In 

particular we would like to thank Cadbury’s Ireland, 

The Clarence Hotel, Ravella’s Restaurant, Buena 

Vista Restaurant, Meteor Ireland, Ciao Bella Roma 

Parliament Street, Krombacher Beer and Patrick S. 

Cahill Solicitors. 

The photo shows Ray Clarke, Seán Barton, Gareth 

O’Brien and Jenney Mellerick pictured with 

quizmaster Mike Shoebridge of Brightwater, 

Eamonn Shannon of DSBA and Michelle McGrath 

of SYS. 

The DSBA Young Dublin Solicitors are pleased to 

announce the 23 rd May 2009 as the date for its annual 

ball. The Ball will take place in the Mansion House 

once again and members are encouraged to book 

their tickets early to avoid disappointment. 

The DSBA Young Dublin Solicitors would like to 

wish all its members a very Merry Christmas and a 

successful New Year. 


Take a look at the Christmas must have tech gadget. 

NETBOOKS 

Netbooks hit the market late last year with ASUS releasing the Eee pc running a 

customised version of Linux. The size and price starting at circa €300.00 made it an 

instant success as a result there’s a wide array of low-cost but highly portable and 

efficient little laptops. 

These smaller cut-down laptops about the size of a medium novel come with far fewer bells and 

whistles yet capable, with an internet connection, of carrying out most undemanding tasks such as 

browsing the web, checking email, using Skype or simple office tasks such as word processing. 

Available in many different colours from black, white, pink and silver making them a must have 

fashion accessory or an ideal research tool for the bag heavy student. 

Very light in weight usually 2 to 3 pounds and with features such as, small screen usually around 7 to 

10 inches diagonal, several USB ports, a webcam, LED backlit screens, integrated speakers, wireless 

connectivity. 

I have put together a list of some things to look for when purchasing a netbook. 

Choose your operating system wisely. Depending on the vendor, Netbooks are usually offered with 

Linux variants, Windows XP or Windows Vista. For the most part, I’d ignore the Linux devices. True, 

they’re cheaper (since there’s no need to pay for a Windows license), and they’re usually loaded with 

open-source software, so things like an office suite, instant-messaging client and other applications are 

available from the get-go. But most users will struggle to add new applications to these machines, and 

the latest and greatest hardware peripherals usually aren’t supported. 

Avoid Vista. For the most part, netbook hardware is to low powered to run Vista well. Most users will 

do best sticking with good old Windows XP. Microsoft recently allowed OEMs to continue to offer XP 

on Netbooks, and that’s a good thing. XP brings the breadth of Windows applications and devices, and 

it’s been around long enough to work well on this class of device. 

Screen size matters. The 7 inch screen is ok for a lower resolution but you need a resolution of about 

1,024-by-600 to run Windows well, anything smaller than an 8.9 to 10 inch screen is just too small. 

Keyboard size. Take into account what the netbook might be used for, if it is just browsing the web for 

research or simple replies to email this might not be an issue. But if you want to use it for heavy email 

use or document creation and you have chunky fingers the size of the keyboard will frustrate you 

quickly. 

Look for six-cell and not three-cell batteries. What’s the fun of having a ubiquitous computer if you 

constantly need to look for a power outlet? Most three-cell batteries will last around three hours, with 

reasonable screen brightness and wireless use. A six-cell battery extends that to get you through a day 

in college or running around town with friends. 

Below are some images of what the different manufacturers versions look like. 

Paul McDonnell –Systems Consultant with Anchor Technology Systems Ltd, 

contact at 01 524 1636 or email pmcdonnell@anchorts.com 



Book Review 

Closing Argument 

CLOSING ARGUMENT 

Justin McKenna is Chairman of the Taxation & 

Probate Committee of the D.S.B.A. and practices with 

Partners at Law Solicitors, 8 Adelaide Street, 

Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin. 

Capital Acquisitions Tax; 3 rd Edition 

Brian Bohan and Fergus McCarthy with contribution from 

Aidan McLoughlin, 

2008,Tottel Publishing, €165.00 

With my Christmas stocking sagging at the ankles this tome arrived in 

the post. 

I had read with great excitement the first edition in 1995 so it was with 

a sense of anticipation that I got stuck into this volume. 

The shape and style of the book is similar to the earlier editions. 

Updating a book of this size clearly presents its own challenges to a 

busy practitioner like Brian and obtaining the services of Fergus 

McCarthy was a prudent move. The book is bigger, beefier and yet 

tighter than previous editions. 

The contents layout is well presented and usefully broken down for the discerning reader. 

Likewise, with the tables of Statutes of Cases it makes the journey through the book for the 

touring reader, easy progress. 

In addition the authors have provided us with a destination table that may be used to trace 

the present location of older legislation as re-enacted in the Capital Acquisitions Tax 

Consolidation Act, 2003. The index again is well laid out as long as you know the difference 

between your reliefs and your exemptions. Neither could I find any mention of the rules of 

aggregation. If I was disappointed in anything concerning references it would be limited to 

the absence of website references. Nowadays online references are just as useful as the 

traditional books. On the other hand, there is no academic clutter by way of footnotes and 

this makes the text easier to follow for the busy practitioner. 

The opening chapter entitled “Introduction” can almost be subtitled “looking for loopholes”. A 

run through this chapter gives a common sense approach to managing advice for clients 

anxious to find ways and means around the inevitable. If one could be a little selective in 

choosing certain aspects of the book upon which to comment my eyes fell upon the expansion 

of the chapter on “Territoriality” and incorporation of updated laws particularly in the area of 

focusing on the types of domicile. If anything, the most useful aspect of this book is bringing 

the changes incorporated by the Consolidation Act 2003 into a textbook format. 

Under the heading of “Gift Tax, Inheritance Tax and Property” there is useful information on 

disclaimers and variations and the more common practice nowadays amongst families to sit 

down and rewrite the testator’s intentions in a manner that produces an effective tax 

outcome. 

It is to be noted that under the chapter entitled “Valuation date” we find updates incorporating 

the finance act of 2007 and the Christie case. A common trap for practising solicitors in the 

recent past has been the operation of the dwellinghouse exemption introduced in the Finance 

Act, 2000 and subsequently altered by the Finance Act, 2007. This is well covered in the 

chapter on “Exemptions”. 

While Mr Bohan and Mr McCarthy appear to have split the spoils of the editing chapter 18 on 

“Insurance” belongs to Aidan McLoughlin. 

There is little doubt that Bohan will remain an enduring item on the bookshelf of anybody 

involved in the succession business. As this book went to print the era of reliefs and 

exemptions would appear to have been placed on hold while the focus of the government is 

now directed at means of increasing the tax take. 

The 

Lidl Effect 

The current economic climate. Jesus wept, if I hear 

those words again. They’re up there with “recessionary 

times” and “hairshirt budget” (what is a hairshirt 

anyway?) as the most over-used and lazy journalistic 

phrases of the last six months. At the very least, could 

we find new ways of describing the world we live in? 

In the last edition of the Parchment, we refused to be 

drawn into the recession blues. In fact, we didn’t even 

want to talk about it. Well, the bad news is that Closing 

Argument’s therapist thinks we need to get it all out 

there because otherwise we’re just bottling it all up. 

The good news is we’ve found the silver lining (God 

knows, it wasn’t easy but we’re nothing if not 

persistent). 

Do you remember when you wouldn’t set foot inside of 

Lidl or Aldi without a disguise? ‘Course you do, 

because that was only about six months ago. There was 

a time when only Superquinn or Marks and Sparks 

would do and some of us even liked the odd trip to 

Mortons of a Saturday. 

It seems now that Lidl/Aldi is the only place to be these 

days. The food is half the price in some instances and 

in most cases as good, if not better, than those of the 

more “upmarket” supermarkets. Nowadays, it’s even 

become cool to shop in the German supermarkets and 

are we worse off for it? I don’t think so. 

So, where are the silver linings for us lawyers? Well, 

here’s one. For too long, too many of us were guilty of 

believing the hype and putting too many eggs in the 

one basket (excuse the supermarket metaphors but 

we’re on a roll). It seems self evident now but relying 

on the property bubble to pay our staff and keep the 

bank manager happy was a little short-sighted. 

Like a lot of people, I suppose we thought the good 

times would last forever. Clearly they haven’t and the 

lesson for us all is diversification. Always keep your 

options open and whether you’re a small practitioner or 

a large one, make sure that one area of your practice 

doesn’t pay all the bills. 

A second positive development is that it gives us more 

time to focus on our practice and the service we 

provide to clients. When there is less work, the best 

firms will survive and prosper because they look after 

their clients. During the boom times, we were all so 

busy opening and closing files that we didn’t have the 

time or the inclination to ask our clients whether they 

were satisfied with the service. A little bit of naval 

gazing and reflection on your client’s needs won’t go 

amiss at this time. 

Of course, if you are reading this and wondering how 

you can pay the staff next week or if you’re an 

employee looking for a new job where there are none, 

then no doubt you want to ram my glass-half-full 

optimism where the sun don’t shine. And for that I 

don’t blame you. 

These are tough, tough times and they will probably get 

worse before they get better. But they will get better, 

nothing is more certain. History tells us that boom 

follows recession follows boom, etc. The only question 

is when. 

But for the time being, try and look on the bright side. 

Everywhere you turn, the Lidl effect is apparent. It 

may be kids playing football because the parents can’t 

afford a Wii or walking to work instead of taking a taxi 

or using up petrol in the car 

And as a profession, we need to stick together because 

we need each other now more than ever. It’s hard to be 

positive but we just need to keep on keeping on. I 

mean, what else could you do in the current economic 

climate? 




Legal Shrines 

Following the overwhelming reaction to the correspondence in the last edition between the editor and former 

editor over the Solicitor’s Writing Room debacle, they have agreed to bury their differences and put their 

literary minds together to come up with a series of pieces on places of interest to the legal profession. The first 

of these is a place which is held dear to the heart of any personal injuries litigator, Noel Smith’s Corner. 

Stuart Gilhooly, a man who has a spent an hour or two in 

the Law Library worships at the altar of the late great man. 

1. Noel Smith's Corner 

The word legend is bandied about a bit too often for my 

liking. You hear kids use it to describe the mildly 

impressive act of a friend and even forty something 

footballers, who were never any good, get to play in 

Legends’ tournaments. But every now and again, we 

get to talk about a real, bona fide, 

don’t-even-bother-arguing-about-it legend. The late 

Noel Smith is such a man. 

Born in 1931, after doing his 

apprenticeship in O’Connor Bergin, Noel 

qualified in 1955 and very soon after set 

up Noel T Smith & Co. It wasn’t long 

before he was doing what he did so 

successfully for the next 49 years, acting 

for insurance companies and Defendants 

in personal injuries litigation. Shortly 

after afterwards, he bought Good & 

Murray, Solicitors, thus creating the well known firm of 

Good & Murray Smith, a firm still at the forefront of 

insurance defence work and currently headed up by his 

daughter Jacqui and Ivan Durcan 

There wasn’t much personal injuries litigation around 

in the 50’s and 60’s, certainly not by today’s standards 

anyway, but Noel quickly cornered the market for 

Defendants and would frequently have the unenviable 

task of defending the indefensible. It was this which 

inspired what is his greatest achievement, the 

settlement meeting. Back in those days, every solicitor 

relied on counsel in all litigation matters and cases, if 

they settled at all, settled only before hearing. Noel had 

what now appears to be a common sense idea but what 

was quite radical then, to set up a settlement meeting 

the day before. This proved remarkably successful and, 

of course, saved on witness expenses and other 

court-related sundries. 

This pilot project soon mushroomed into what is now 

an everyday occurrence, the lunchtime settlement 

meeting. After a while, Noel would go to the offices of 

the regular Plaintiffs’ solicitors (in the late seventies and 

eighties, a handful of offices did most of the Plaintiff 

work) with a pile of files and try and settle them there 

and then. 

It was, though, the lunchtime settlement meeting which 

has endured. It was arranged at lunchtime to 

accommodate barristers who were often in court during 

the day. It wasn’t long before Noel found a spot in the 

Law Library that he could call his own. That area has 

changed a lot of over the years and now has 

consultation cubicles standing in its place (there used to 

be a consultation table there where Noel would spread 

Noel Smith on the right 

out his files). Yet, right up until his death at Christmas 

in 2004, Noel would stand in that very spot, with his 

remarkably easy manner, casually meeting and greeting 

and, almost invariably, settling. 

Outside of his legal career, he was a very polished rally 

driver, winning five consecutive Irish Rally 

championships and competing regularly in the Circuit 

of Ireland. In addition, he was a member of the 

Stardust Tribunal and the Criminal Injuries 

Compensation tribunal. 

He was a man who never drank, but loved a good meal 

and a good settlement was known to result in a meal in 

the Lord Edward, another legal haunt of legendary 

standing. 

What was most notable and memorable, though, about 

Noel Smith was his manner. Anyone who did business 

with Noel might well have left with less than they 

expected or than the case was worth but never with a 

bitter taste in their mouth. You see, this was a man who 

could get on with anyone and everyone, Plaintiffs and 

Defendants, insurance companies and judges. He 

respected by all but you never got one over him. You 

see, he knew the value of a case and he was almost 

always right. That’s why Noel Smith’s corner will 

always be his corner to those of a certain generation. 

He may no longer be with us but his legacy lives on. 

The chances are we will never see his like again. 

Stuart Gilhooly

PARCHMENT

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