I vividly remember my time serving as the Minister for Justice and Equality, during which I tabled the Legal Services Regulation Bill in 2011. The Bill, which mapped out significant changes to legal professions, was met with strong opposition from both the Law Society and the Bar Council. They forewarned about the possibility of a complete disruption of the legal sector, compromising its independence and threatening its constitutional structure.
The Bill was formulated in a highly expedited manner, with the supervision of the troika consisting of the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the European Commission. Their push for a modernised legal profession aligned seamlessly with my own policy goal that I had advocated for a good while.
Post-publication, the Bill underwent a comprehensive consultation phase, focusing on smoothing out inconsistencies and fine-tuning it to ensure its effective operation for the good of both legal professionals and clients. As its structure became better understood over time, the Law Society’s initial resistance softened, knowing that I was open to genuine attempts to ameliorate the proposal. However, the Bar Council, the representation body for barristers, remained sternly against it. Their efforts to deceive the media and opposing factions, leading them to believe that I intended to dismantle the Bar, were quite unsettling. The vehemence in their lobbying against the enforcement of the Bill, including covert discrediting attempts with the then-prime minister Enda Kenny to undermine my personal intentions, was incredibly virulent and unremitting.
As far as I recall, the Bill left the committee stage in the Dáil right before my departure as Minister in May 2014. Media outlets later reported the celebration of this aspect at the Bar Library, symbolically marking it with popped champagne corks. Eventually, the Bill received its legal sanction as the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015.
The Bill’s range of original reforms remained intact in the Act, which encompassed provisions for the creation of a Legal Services Authority, an independent process for addressing misconduct complaints lodged against individuals in the legal field, the formation of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, and the execution of inspections within legal practices. Besides these, the Act introduced new sections pertaining to legal expenses and their adjudication by the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicator when disagreements arose. The Act incorporated the appointing of solicitors to the position of senior counsel, the formation of legal partnerships, multidisciplinary practices, limited liability practices, novel professional practice codes, and allowed for direct access to barristers’ professional legal consultation by the public.
Despite anticipated amendments to the Bill during its legislative journey following my exit from the cabinet, its fundamental provisions and goals remained intact.
The Act of 2011 encompassed temporary provisions, with the perception that its transformations would be brought to fruition in phases. Contrary to expectations, the process took a decade rather than the projected three years.
With numerous provisions of the 2015 Act being in place for a few years, the novel sections which facilitate partnerships between barristers and solicitors only came into effect recently. These provisions, designed to establish a comprehensive service for consumers of legal services, aim to enhance efficiency, stimulate competition and decrease legal fees. Amongst these was one provision that caused discontent within the Bar Council, particularly among individuals who now hold judiciary positions. Despite historical controversies, these provisions have been received rather quietly. The delayed yet welcomed execution of these sections is set to revamp the legal arena. Guaranteeing their successful implementation to truly diminish legal costs is of utmost importance.
Thus far, there have been no collapses, and I remained optimistic that there won’t be any. – Yours faithfully,
ALAN SHATTER,
Dublin 16.