Law Society Elections

October is election time for the Law Society Council and the Parchment is supporting all ublin-based candidates by publishing their candidature in the upcoming election. Each candidate was asked to furnish 5 words on either (A) why they should be elected re-elected to the Law Society or () what are the biggest issues facing the profession. elow is what we received from each candidate

As this is the Parchment, we cannot let the occasion pass without a plug for former

SA President Áine Hynes and regular Parchment contributor Richard Grogan. Also running in the election is Tara oyle, Imelda Reynolds, an Connor, Carol Plunkett, James Murphy and Michelle Ní Longáin.

There is an excellent field of candidates to choose from in this year’s Law Society Council elections. ake up your own mind, support the SA and the ublin candidates and ensure that you vote. ÁINE HYNES My name is Áine Hynes and it has been my privilege to represent the profession on Law Society Council for the past two years. I am now seeking reelection – and of course, I do not expect your vote to be automatic. I believe your representative should work hard to promote your interests and I have always tried to do this.

For example, while President of the SA, I was appalled at the long delays in the taxation of costs and took on board the feedback from you about the impact of the delays on your practices and employees. To address this, I worked with The on. r ustice elly P., leading to the formulation of Practice Direction HC71, which provides that the Court can make orders for payment of a portion of costs prior to taxation. This direction had an immediate positive impact on the speedy recovery of costs.

As a Council ember I have represented your interests in the law society via the following committees and initiatives: Women in Leadership Mentoring Programme I have had great pleasure volunteering for this law society initiative since 215. I have tried to assist younger female colleagues to reach their full potential and empower them to have the courage and confidence to take on challenges. I am honoured to be one of the first female solicitors appointed as Senior Counsel and I hope to encourage more female colleagues to apply in the future. Indeed, I hope my appointment motivates more women to apply for the most senior roles within our profession.

Litigation Committee I have been a member of the Litigation Committee since 2 , dealing with multiple ueries from the profession, reviewing superior court rules and procedures, and assisting in drafting guidance notes for the profession, including the law society medico legal recommendations booklet.

Task force on Mental Health and Capacity I am ice-Chair of this Task Force and a member since 2 . I oined as a solicitor representing the most vulnerable in society and this an area of law that I have devoted much of my professional career to. As part of the Task Force I have assisted in drafting practice notes and guidance for Solicitors dealing with vulnerable clients drafting submissions to overnment on ental Health and Capacity legislation and drafting Codes of

Practice for the Assisted ecision- aking (Capacity) Act. Legal Services Regulation Act Task Force The impact of the Legal Services Regulation Act 215 cannot be overstated. It is one of the most significant pieces of legislation to affect the legal profession in any of our working lifetimes. I am pleased to be part of this Task Force which is working hard to represent your interests in dealing with the LSRA and in assisting solicitors to navigate the challenges raised by the legislation, including the new costs regime.

I am committed to continuing my work as your representative and would greatly appreciate your vote. RICHARD GROGAN The biggest challenges to our profession currently, in my opinion, are dealing with three issues. The first is the maintenance of incomes. That is incomes of Partners, Principals, and, Associate Solicitors. any firms and colleagues have seen incomes fall. thers have concerns for 221.

The second is Professional Indemnity Insurance. An increase this year after the increase last year will place significant pressure on firms. This translates into further income reductions. The Law Society can help by reducing the cost of the Practising Certificate. I have looked for a 5% reduction and have been criticised for doing so. Despite what may be claimed, I am of the belief on the figures that 5% as a reduction

on a one year basis is practical without any impact on the Society at all, and 5% is possible with minimal impact.

The arguments against such a reduction are based on what I term conservative accounting practices.

The third is the stress which colleagues at all levels are under. It is one which is evident. The Society is trying to provide support services for colleagues and that is to be welcomed. As a profession we need to recognise the stresses which are here and to support each other. As a profession we must act together. e have challenges. They are serious challenges. There are no simple solutions. owever I do believe that the Society has to be seen as the representative body of our profession and that capital sums set aside this year will have to be used to maintain services but at the same time to reduce the cost of the Practising Certificate and the cost of obtaining services from the Society. e must as a Profession work together for the benefit of us all.

I am a candidate in this year’s election. I would greatly appreciate your vote. MICHELLE NÍ LONGÁIN I am asking for your vote in the Law Society Council elections. I grew up in Donegal and ualified as a solicitor in Northern Ireland in 1994. I practised in Northern Ireland initially and then in England before returning to Ireland in 1999. I have been a partner in yrne allace since 2 1. I became an

elected member of the Council for the first time in 2 4 and have served on the Council since then. I am again seeking your support as a candidate for election to the council so that I can continue to represent you and work on your behalf. ost recently I have chaired the ender uality iversity and Inclusion Task Force, which brought together the knowledge and input of a wide range of our colleagues. I have also chaired the Finance and Education Committees, Skillnet, and Finuas networks and I am the chair of the Audit Sub Committee. I have served on many committees and was a member of the Task Force on the Legal Services Regulation ill. e have all faced an extraordinarily difficult year wherever we practise, whatever the stage of our careers, whether in a small or large firm, in-house, in the public or private sectors, in a city, town or rural area. I believe that next year is likely to be even more demanding in our professional lives, as the impact of Covid-19 continues to take effect on peoples lives, their finances, and business nationally and internationally. rexits current and future impact are also realities that we must address, all while dealing with the challenges and opportunities created by the Legal Services Regulation Act.

I have spent many years navigating challenges within the Law Society Council for our profession and I ask you for the opportunity to continue to do so. I believe that the experience that I have had on the Council of the Law Society for the past 1 years, as a partner in a law firm for 19 years, and as a busy, active practitioner enable me to represent you well at this time of unprecedented challenge for us all.

TARA DOYLE I am a partner in Matheson, the firm I oined as a trainee 2 years ago. As the only candidate in this year’s election who has not previously served on Council, I would hope to bring a fresh voice and perspective to the Councils work. I believe I can contribute to the Law Society’s work in a number of key areas.

Competitiveness. I am the ead of athesons Asset anagement epartment. y practice area involves advising international clients, who enoy considerable choice when deciding in which urisdiction to domicile their funds and asset management companies. As a result, I am keenly aware of the need for the Irish legal profession to be internationally competitive and would like to contribute to the work of the Law Society to ensure this is the case.

Professional Wellbeing. I am very conscious of the health pressures, mental and physical, which all members of our profession have faced this year, regardless of the nature of their practice. While these pressures have been heightened by the Covid-19 pandemic, I believe they will be an enduring concern for the profession. I am deeply interested in this area and would like to contribute to the Law Society’s development of the Professional ellbeing Charter. Diversity & Inclusion. I am a member of athesons iversity and Inclusion Steering Committee and so very much welcome the ender uality, iversity and Inclusion ( I) Charter developed by the Law Societys I Task Force this year. I would like to continue to support the work being done by the Law Society to create diverse and inclusive cultures within Irish law firms. Education. I have served as chair of athesons raduate Talent evelopment Committee since 2 2 and so am very aware of the challenges facing law students, trainees and newly ualified solicitors in entering the profession. I had the very rewarding experience of serving on the Law Societys Curriculum evelopment nit this year and would like to continue doing my part to ensure appropriate design and oversight of Law Society training, as well as fostering diversity and inclusion in our profession. DAN O’CONNOR e are living in incredibly challenging times. Covid-19 has had a significant impact and has accelerated digital transformation, that will outlast the pandemic, on almost every facet of life including the provision of legal services. These changes will have significant and long term implications for our society. Solicitors – given the key role we play at the heart of Ireland’s community and business life – will not be immune.

In this new environment, it will be important that the interests of all solicitors, no matter where or how they practise, is well represented. This, together with the change in the role of the Law Society from regulatory to representative body, presents us with a real opportunity as well as challenges.

It is important that the Law Society is euipped to support our profession in confronting the challenges whilst availing of the opportunity. The Law Society has taken advantage of the halt in normal business to conduct a number of reviews in respect of all aspects of its being and operation.

I commit, if elected, to ensure this important work is continued and that the Law Society’s governance, structure and ways of working are fit to support the demands of a modern and ever evolving profession. We need to ensure that the Law Society is best placed to: • Ensure, we solicitors, work together as a united profession; Preserve our independence • Represent solicitors as a whole with all the necessary skills; Forge better and stronger links with the ar

Association of Ireland and evelop innovative solutions to the challenges we face. y experience both on the Council and in practice, together with my passion for the solicitors’ profession and the important role we play in Irish society, are my motivation for seeking a further term on the Council.

I am committed to working to highlight the contribution of solicitors and to safeguard their interests. I will always try to be a voice for integrity and do my very best to promote the best interests of solicitors as a whole.

IMELDA REYNOLDS I have been a member of the Law Society Council since 21, and last year took on the role of Chair of the Regulation of Practice Committee. I’d welcome your support to allow me continue to contribute to the Society for a further period and support the substantial programme of work underway, particularly in the regulatory area. This is undoubtedly a time of great change, and we’re facing some unusual challenges. Dealing with them as effectively as we have to date demonstrates ust how resilient our profession is.

It is likely that many of the changes weve seen in the last few months will become part of a new way for the profession to think and operate. Ive been with eauchamps since ualification, served as anaging Partner and, since 211, have been the Chair. I also have a number of other roles outside the firm, on public sector and not for profit boards. The changes underway will reuire leadership and initiative from the Council of the Society. Id like to continue to bring my experience, gleaned over many years of practice and management, to bear at the Council table. ere operating in a competitive and challenging environment. In that context, Council has to be an effective and relevant voice for our members and has to lead from the front. We need to ensure that the governance, structures, and processes of the Society are proportionate and fit for purpose, and command the trust and confidence of members. I’d appreciate your support to enable me to contribute towards achieving that. JAMES MUPRHY e are a very resilient profession. Notwithstanding the turmoil caused by the financial crash of 2 , the profession as a whole recovered and business volumes picked up again. Numbers in the profession are growing and we continue to attract the best talent – the high points reuired for law courses in all of our third level institutions bears this out. owever, we need to focus on retaining this talent as much as possible. Training a person to become a solicitor is a long and expensive process for the solicitor, the Law Society and the training firms. In my experience, we lose too many solicitors from the profession, particularly in the early stages of ualification. As a profession we need to consider why this is and what we can do about it. The current Covid crisis is one of the greatest existential threats to the profession in my years in practice. While the Law Society has been a powerful advocate for the profession at this time, nevertheless firms are struggling with declining workloads, challenged cashows and increased PI insurance costs. Some firms will fold and others will never be the same. Trainees and younger solicitors are feeling the brunt of this. Apart from employment concerns, it is difficult to give these lawyers the level of day to day attention and on the ob training they need. hile the crisis will inevitably pass and most firms will recover, this legacy will cast a long shadow over the profession. Finally – and though at a time like this it can be difficult to think of it as a priority – we do, in the long term need to be mindful of the impact of increased regulation on the profession. While much new regulation is sensible, the Society needs to stress test all new proposals to make sure they are necessary and that solicitors can devote most of their working day to doing what they do best, delivering legal services. CAROL PLUNKETT

One of the issues facing the profession currently is the sense of isolation we all feel as a result of Covid-19. The vast maority of us have been working from home since this all began in March and while a novelty at first with certain advantages, as time goes on and there is no end in sight, that isolation is growing more acute. We need time out from the daily concerns of keeping our practices going and looking after employees and clients.

An option for coping with this is to use one of the most valuable support services which the Law Society provides that of legal education. hen the pandemic bit, the world of human physical interaction ended and new ways of communication had to be adopted. The Law Society’s amazing Education Department worked long hours to redesign every course for provision online. ours of free education have been offered to the profession, some with the invaluable support of Skillnets funding. ver 12, solicitors and trainees have benefited from these diplomas and online CP courses, all at no cost.

It is an excellent way of meeting colleagues, even if only virtually and of taking your mind away from legal practice issues ust for a while. The trainee PPC courses were redesigned too and run completely online using Panopto for lectures, chat facilities, breakout rooms and screen sharing on oom. Participation has been 9% to 1 %, higher than in normal courses. The Counselling Service to students has had more extensive use than its o ine euivalent. A series of nlocking ellbeing and Legal Lives webinars is being offered to the profession in general. The Law Schools success in dealing with the Covid-19 health crisis has ensured that no trainee or solicitor was disadvantaged or delayed in completing their course and receiving their ualification or CP hours. If you havent already, do look at the options available. hile not the same as sitting in the lecture theatre in lackhall Place or meeting colleagues for coffee at a cluster event, it is a reasonable substitute in the circumstances and a small but worthwhile respite from present worries.