Madam, - I write to correct two common reporting errors, one significant and one minor, which appeared in a report of a High Court judgment on page 4 of your edition of January 31st, 2008, under the headline "Misconduct case against solicitors fails".
The report describes the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal as "the internal disciplinary body of the Incorporated Law Society".
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal is established by statute, operates from separate premises and is not "internal" to the Law Society. It is independent of the Law Society, as is illustrated by the fact that the society does not always succeed in the cases it brings before the tribunal.
The members of the tribunal are appointed by and are answerable only to the President of the High Court. One third of the tribunal's members are non-lawyers nominated by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The tribunal undertakes inquiries into allegations of misconduct by solicitors. Individual cases can be brought before it either by the Law Society or by clients of the solicitor.
Evidence is given to the tribunal under oath and may be subject to cross-examination. Its hearings are in public and details of all findings of misconduct by solicitors are published.
The tribunal has limited statutory powers of sanction where it makes findings of misconduct, including the power to impose fines of up to €15,000. Where it believes a more severe sanction is warranted, such as suspension or strike-off, the tribunal must send the case forward to the President of the High Court.
As I have shown, therefore, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal is independent of, and not internal to, the Law Society. I want to take this opportunity also to correct another common, albeit minor, error in your report without, I hope, appearing pedantic. The full name of the Law Society is Law Society of Ireland.
Although it still appears regularly in media reports, the word "Incorporated" was deleted by statute in 1994. - Yours, etc,
KEN MURPHY, Director General, Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin 7.