Madam, - I read with incredulity Carol Coulter's report on the overcharging of legal fees ( The Irish Times, February 5th). Barristers, with the connivance of solicitors, charged for "attendances" in court even though they had not attended - ie, they issued fraudulent invoices. To the ordinary person this is theft, pure and simple.
The report says that the solicitors were aware of the non-attendances, yet they were not accused of overcharging. What convoluted logic is at work here? If a person on social welfare is caught defrauding the system by working when they have stated they were not, they are immediately fined and disbarred from making further claims.
The report also says the chairman of the Bar Council confirmed that charging of fees for absences was "professional misconduct". I find it obscene that such blatant theft is not admonished by even a temporary suspension from the "profession". Hands up for self-regulation? What a fantastic moral example to set for a nation.
- Yours, etc,
BRIAN MORE-O'FERRALL, Foxrock, Dublin 18.