The solicitors' profession has a "rosy future" as long as it concentrates on its core activity of providing legal advice rather than ancillary services such as auctioneering and selling insurance, the new president of the Law Society, Mr Pat O'Connor, said yesterday.
He said in the past there was an attempt to broaden the areas of work that solicitors became involved in, such as auctioneering or insurance.
"That may suit some individuals but not the profession in general. I think we need to focus on our core service areas and to market these services effectively."
Mr O'Connor is principal of the Mayo solicitors' firm P. O'Connor & Son, and is the third generation of O'Connor to practise in that firm. He will serve a one-year term as president of the Law Society.
He follows in the footsteps of his father, Thomas V. O'Connor, who was coroner for Mayo East and president of the Law Society between 1972 and 1973.
Speaking after his election, Mr O'Connor predicted that the increasing regulation of society would fuel demand for more lawyers in the future.