The Bar Council has hired consultants to fight the Government's proposal to set up a Personal Injury Assessment Board to deal with personal injury claims.
The move was announced by the Minister of State, Mr Noel Treacy, two weeks ago and met with a cool reception from the representatives of the legal profession, the Bar Council and the Law Society.
Both expressed fears that the heavy representation of the insurance industry on the board would have a negative impact on litigants, and that it would create an additional and unnecessary bureaucratic layer.
The use of such a board is intended to reduce costs and delays in bringing claims arising from personal injuries at work and, later, in road traffic accidents. At present the legal cost of processing such claims varies from 25 to 40 per cent of the cost of the claim, even though many are settled out of court.
In a letter to all members of the Bar last week the chairman of the Bar Council, Mr Rory Brady SC, said: "It is our intention to engage in a fundamental attack on the report and the consequent proposal to establish the board. It is a flawed proposal, and we shall continue to demonstrate to the policy-makers that this is so.
"It is our firm belief that the effect of establishing the board will be to undermine the right to adequate compensation of injured employees. This is contrary to the public interest of providing adequate compensation to injured employees."
He outlined the steps the council had taken.
These included hiring a well-known consultant economist and a former senior claims manager with a leading underwriter who would analyse the report.
The two are not named in the letter.
A Personal Injuries Bar Committee has been set up to co-ordinate the council's response.