One of the two Taxing Masters has written to the Law Society and the Bar Council expressing his serious concern about instances of overcharging, The Irish Timeshas learned.
The Irish Timeshas also found that the Bar Council has decided to appoint a compliance officer from outside the legal profession to ensure that its rules on marking fees and other matters are observed by its members.
The High Court Taxing Masters assess costs when these are awarded by the court and the amounts disputed. They are bound by the court order, and do not themselves award costs.
Parties appear before them, often assisted by legal costs accountants, and present their bills, which can be questioned by the other side.
One of the two High Court Taxing Masters, Charles Moran, wrote to the chairman of the Bar Council, Turlough O'Donnell, and to the director-general of the Law Society, Ken Murphy, in January last year drawing attention to at least five instances of over-charging he had encountered during recent taxations. They all concerned fee notes submitted by junior counsel, charging "fresher fees" for attendance in court, although the counsel were not in court at all on those days.
According to the letter, which has been seen by The Irish Times, the solicitors' files showed the solicitors were aware of this, yet had submitted fee notes. Junior counsel fees for attendance in the High Court generally range between €1,500 and €3,000 a day.
One instance concerned fees for five days, and another for seven days, both of which were disallowed. While the solicitors in these cases were not accused of having overcharged clients, the Law Society was contacted by Mr Moran and reminded that its members should not submit bills for a service that was not rendered.
Mr Murphy told The Irish Times he recalled getting the letter. He spoke to the Taxing Master, and assured him the society "would have no truck with overcharging". He said he did not remember whether or not the society had written to its members to draw their attention to Mr Moran's concerns.
Mr O'Donnell told The Irish Times that he, the vice-chairman and the director of the Bar Council, had met Mr Moran to discuss his letter and shared the concerns he raised. Action was being taken on this and a range of issues, he said, as part of a programme of continuous improvement of the Bar.
Mr O'Donnell said the Bar Council had agreed to advise members that the practice of junior counsel marking a fee at two-thirds of the senior counsel fee should cease, and that charging a fee for a day in which the barrister was absent was professional misconduct.
"The Bar Council has approved the appointment of a compliance officer to drive compliance with the Code of Conduct. We have discipline by complaint at the moment. That is not sufficient to maintain high standards. You make strong and specific rules and have someone to enforce compliance," he said.