Sir, – Your Editorial (October 4th) is the latest in a series on the process of legal reform that is underway. The Bar Council of Ireland has and will continue fully to engage with the Government and others, to ensure the process ensures the fairest and most effective delivery of legal services to the public.
It is important that the debate on this process of reform takes place in the context of accurate facts and not selective and inaccurate information and data.
The small and specific Forfás survey on competitiveness that was carried out on behalf of the National Competitiveness Council referred to in this and previous editorials was a business to business survey based on selected and specific criteria and covered only 18 solicitor firms. The authors of the survey specifically noted that because of the small sample size caution should be used in interpreting the results. In addition, barristers’ fees were not included in the survey.
The suggestion, therefore, that based on this information all legal fees have increased by 12 per cent over the past year is completely untrue. The reality is that barristers have been subject to State cuts of 33.3 per cent for criminal legal aid cases. Civil legal aid fees have also been reduced by a similar percentage.
In addition, the State retains barristers’ services on a regular basis in civil cases. The fees in these cases have been reduced by similar, if not greater, amounts. In some cases cuts of more than 50 per cent have been imposed on a unilateral basis. Fees paid by private clients have also been severely reduced due to the difficult economic conditions and intense competition. This is the reality regarding fees for the overwhelming majority of barristers in practice (almost 50 per cent of whom are in practice for 10 years or less). It is to be hoped future commentary on the Legal Services Regulation Bill will reflect the true position. – Yours, etc,