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Law Society Gazette | gazette.ie Jan/Feb 2017 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 1 FINDING THE ANSWER In some ways, it seems like yesterday. In others, it’s a lifetime ago. In 1999 (the last century!), my daughter Valerie was only a week old when I was elected to the Law Society Council. My son Paul – now 5ft 8in and taller than my wife Fidelma – was still three years away from his own entry into the world. It’s been a long journey to this point, but I wasn’t always part of the furniture. There was a time when I asked the question that many solicitors pose: ‘What does the Law Society do for us?’ I made the decision to find out. This column is far too short for a comprehensive answer to that rather esoteric question, but suffice it to say the result was that I kept coming back for more. It has become clear to me over years of interaction with colleagues, however, that many people have not yet found the answer. There seems to be a perception that, among larger firms, we exist to assist smaller practices – and it’s often the case that smaller firms feel that the opposite applies. Ever-evolving The truth of the matter is that we are an everevolving profession with increasingly diverse requirements. As of last year, 23% of the practising certificates issued were to solicitors in the largest 20 firms. A total of 18% of the profession practise outside of the traditional law firm model – either in-house (15%) or in the public sector (3%). Marrying the needs of this very large section of the solicitors’ profession with the remaining percentage who work in medium or smaller firms is a major challenge, but one we are determined to meet. I firmly believe that the Law Society has a role to play in the life of all solicitors, and it is our job to communicate this effectively. Over the course of the next year, I hope to meet as many of you as possible and listen to what you want from us. My door is never closed and my email (stuart. gilhooly@hjward.ie or president@lawsociety.ie) is always on. I am the average solicitor from a relatively small suburban firm and can identify with the problems that most of us face on a day-to-day basis. I pay insurance, practising certificate fees, do CPD, and worry about keeping clients happy in the same way as you do. Stressful It is a privilege to be a solicitor, but that doesn’t mean it’s not stressful – it often is, and we recognise that. We are here to help and, please, never be afraid to ask. As I write this, I’m over ten weeks into the role and it’s been more hectic than I could have imagined. The cyclical insurance crisis has consumed the media and politicians for much of this period but, unlike 2002, when similar price hikes resulted in the establishment of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, this time the focus has shifted to the dubious behaviour of the insurance industry. As usual, they attempted to shift the blame to lawyers and the courts but, like the boy who cried IT’S NOT DONALD TRUMP, BUT THERE’S LOTS GOING ON! wolf, they did it once too often. We attended the Oireachtas Finance Committee and the working group established by Minister Eoghan Murphy and told them what was really happening. The subsequent reports of both of these bodies recognised the reality that claims and legal costs have played practically no role in the increase in insurance premiums (see p11). We are continuing to cooperate with the working group and will be seeking a presence on the newly established Personal Injuries Commission. This is just one example of the many projects underway this year. Finally, if you are on Twitter, give me a follow at @LSIPresident. It’s not Donald Trump, but there’s lots going on! STUART GILHOOLY, PRESIDENT
WINNER It’s a little-known fact that in-house solicitors can take on trainees in their own right The Law Society’s new cybersecurity site for keeping your practice safe The background on the new employee vetting legislation explained €4.00 JAN/FEB 2017 2 Jan/Feb 2017 Law Society Gazette | gazette.ie CONTENTS THE LAW 36 44 40 LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE • Vol 111 No 1 JAN/FEB 2017 Law Society of Ireland ga ette LAW SOCIETY House of cards Cybersecurity systems Vet in a spin STRIKING OUT Lawyers front and centre in new Irish TV drama COVER: CONOR HORGAN, BLINDER FILMS COVER STORY 30 Striking out RTÉ’s latest drama puts the Irish legal system front and centre for the first time in Irish TV history. Grainne Rothery went on set for the Gazette to meet the stars of the show FEATURES 36 Brextradition Brexit is set to have a significant impact on extradition between Ireland and Britain. Ray Briscoe takes a look at how such business could be conducted post-Brexit 40 44 48 It shouldn’t happen to a vetting officer Background checks on employees are important, particularly where they may have access to children or vulnerable people. Matthew Holmes pulls your records Get in! Being a training solicitor is not the sole preserve of solicitors in private practice. In-house and public-sector solicitors can be training solicitors too, as Ian Ryan explains Restored to glory Between 2010 and 2015, a total of 4,268 companies were restored to the the Register of Companies. Sally O’Neill walks us through the practice and procedure of restoration ga ette LAW SOCIETY Blackhall Place, Dublin 7. Tel: 01 672 4828, fax: 01 672 4801, email: gazette@lawsociety.ie PROFESSIONAL NOTICES: send small advert details, with payment, to: Gazette Office, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7, tel: 01 672 4828, or email: gazettestaff@lawsociety.ie. All cheques should be made payable to: Law Society of Ireland COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING: contact Seán Ó hOisín, 10 Arran Road, Dublin 9, tel: 01 837 5018, mobile: 086 811 7116, email: sean@lawsociety.ie. See the Gazette rate card online at www.lawsociety.ie/gazette-rates HAVE YOU MOVED? Members of the profession should send change-of-address details to: IT Section, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7, or to: customerservice@lawsociety.ie Law Society Gazette Volume 111, number 1 Subscriptions: €65 (€95 overseas) Editor: Mark McDermott FIIC Deputy editor: Dr Garrett O’Boyle Art director: Nuala Redmond Editorial secretary: Catherine Kearney Printing: Turner’s Printing Company Ltd, Longford Editorial board: Michael Kealey (chairman), Mark McDermott (secretary), Patrick Ambrose, William Aylmer, Aoife Byrne, Mairéad Cashman, Hilary Forde, Richard Hammond, Teri Kelly, Tracy Cruikshank, Patrick J McGonagle, Aisling Meehan, Heather Murphy, Ken Murphy, Andrew Sheridan
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