Madam, - The recent publication of the Competition Authority's final report on the legal profession highlights the urgent need for reform in this important area. Despite the protestations of the Law Society and Kings Inns, it is clear that the conduct of many solicitors and barristers falls short of what is expected in other professions (medical, engineering, financial).
A case in point is the lack of a mandatory code of practice for family law practitioners. Some time ago the Family Law and Legal Aid Committee of the Law Society of Ireland issued guidelines for solicitors who practise family law.
These included:
1.3 The solicitor should ensure the client appreciates that the interests of the children should be a primary concern.
1.4 The solicitor should encourage the attitude that a family dispute is not a contest in which there is one winner and one loser, but rather a search for fair solutions.
1.5 Because of the involvement of personal emotions in family disputes the solicitor should, where possible , avoid heightening such emotions in any way.
6.1 In dealing with another party who is not legally represented the solicitor should take particular care to be courteous and restrained.
9.3 Issues relating to the custody and access of children on the one hand and finance on the other, must be kept separate and independent.
The sorry mess in which the Irish family law system finds itself gives credence to the belief that legal professionals are ignoring the basic tenets of any reasonable code of conduct. This should not surprise us, or indeed the family law and legal aid committee since it saw fit to conclude their proposals with the remark that "Adherence to the Code is not a sign of weakness . . ." - Yours, etc,
NIALL BRENNAN,
Donabate,
Co Dublin.