Madam, - It is with regret that I read new revelations on an almost daily basis at the moment regarding the difficulties that two and possibly more of my professional colleagues have created for themselves. Regret, I add, not that that their misdemeanours have been uncovered, but rather that they were not uncovered sooner.
The implication for the vast majority of solicitors in the country who work hard on a daily basis to ensure that their clients' cases are dealt with expeditiously and professionally, is that we will be tarred with the same brush as the few apparently bad apples in the profession.
Regret too that the concerns many of us had that the cut-price conveyancing brought about as a consequence of the boom in the property market would result in some solicitors taking short cuts and not dealing with transactions properly for their clients, appear to be coming true. My own view has been for some time that some solicitors have not even bothered to read the title to their clients' houses before completing the purchase for their clients. They, in my opinion, have just been certifying title for the lending institution and drawing down the loan funds on foot of their undertaking to perfect the title later, and hoping it will be OK.
That situation I believe has been as a result of the drive towards extremely low-cost conveyancing prices whereby all clients see is that they are being offered legal fees of a fraction of the historical cost, and believe that price is the only issue that should concern them. The problem with that presumption though is that often if you pay peanuts you get monkeys, and that unfortunately appears now to have been proven.
The public should be aware that the vast majority of the legal profession remain committed to providing their clients with a professional service on a daily basis and are driven by a desire to fulfil their obligations to their clients rather than a desire to line their own pockets at their clients' expense. - Yours, etc,
MARK FELTON, Solicitor, Greystones, Co Wicklow.