New regulations aimed at toning down solicitors' advertising have been sent to the Minister for Justice, and are expected to become law by November 1st.
They outlaw advertisements highlighting personal injuries and accident compensation, along with offers like "no foal, no fee".
They are intended to prohibit any advertisement that encourages or solicits the bringing of personal injury claims.
The regulations were drawn up by the advertising task force of the Law Society and accepted unanimously by its council on Friday last. They were then sent to the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell.
This follows the passage of the 2002 Solicitors (Amendment) Act through the Oireachtas earlier this year. Among its provisions were restrictions on solicitors' advertising, with detailed regulations to be drawn up by the Law Society, and approved by the Minister.
There has been a proliferation of solicitors' advertisements, especially those aimed at potential personal injury claimants, since the ban on solicitors' advertising was abandoned by the Law Society in 1988. This followed pressure from the then government, which considered such a ban to be anti-competitive.
However, as the number of Army deafness claims mushroomed, solicitors' advertising was blamed for contributing to the "compensation culture", and pressure grew to restrict it.
Under the new regulations, the Law Society will be able to take disciplinary action against any solicitor who advertises in a manner that could be considered an inducement to take a claim. This includes saying that he or she specialises in personal injury cases, or that accidents can produce compensation.
Phrases like "no win, no fee", "most cases settled out of court" will be banned. Cartoons showing hypothetical accidents, at work or elsewhere, will also be banned, along with any emotive words or pictures.
The proposed regulations also contain limitations on the size, context, content and location of advertisements.
For instance, it will no longer be permissible to place such advertisements near hospitals, cemeteries or crematoria, including on bus shelters in such locations.
The information on advertisements must be limited to the contact details of the solicitor, his or her qualifications and areas of expertise.
Referring to the new regulations, the director general of the Law Society, Mr Ken Murphy, said: "Advertising was forced on a reluctant profession in the late 1980s. Only a tiny minority of the profession availed of it. The great majority regret that it was ever allowed, as it has reduced the esteem in which the solicitors' profession was held by the public generally."