IE
S.I. No. 138/1974 - Solicitors Act, 1954 (Apprenticeship and Education) (Amendment No. 1) Regulations 1974.
Table of Provisions (15)
Statutory Text (15 Articles)
1. Equity
2. Labour Law
3. 2 of the options above and below excluding any taken in year 3.
Advanced Private Law,
Legal History
Revenue Law,
Company Law
Conflict of Laws
APPENDIX B.
Outline of Society's Course of Study
.
1
st Year
(
a
) Revenue Law—including instruction in handling taxation matters.
(
b
) (i) Law of and practical instruction in Conveyancing e.g. investigation of titles, purchase of lands, landlord and tenant, mortgages and building of houses.
(ii) Wills and Administration of Estates—the drawing of Wills and Codicils, the winding-up of Estates and the administration of Trusts.
(
c
) Business Law—
(i) Instruction on Company Formation and Partnership Agreements and respective advantages of each.
(ii) Outlines of Bankruptcy and Liquidation.
(iii) Financial aspects of Company Law. Instruction in the interpretation of balance sheets, accounts generally and financing of companies, including the operations of the Stock Exchange. General commercial knowledge.
(
d
)
Family Law—Practice and Procedure
The practical aspects of family work, e.g. property rights, infants, matrimonial problems, legal aid arrangements (as and when they operate).
(
e
)
Administrative Law—Practice and Procedure
The practical aspects of Local Government Law, including Town Planning, Administrative Tribunals under the Social Welfare Acts, the Land Commission and Land Acts.
(
f
)
Criminal and Civil Litigation
(i) Practice and procedure of Criminal Courts.
(ii) Practical instruction in the preparation of a prosecution case and the case for the defence, including instruction in the drawing of briefs and writing of opinions.
(iii) Practice and procedure in the Superior and Inferior Civil Courts.
(iv) Practical instruction in the drawing of pleadings, preparation of cases for advice and opinions.
(v) An advocacy course in both civil and criminal proceedings.
(
g
) Ethics and Professional Conduct—probably based on the revised edition (now in preparation) of Sir Thomas Lund's book "A guide to Professional Conduct and Etiquette" adapted for Irish conditions.
Final
3—4
months after
18
months in Master's office
.
(
a
)
Office administration
including staff assessment, management and training, filing procedure, office systems etc.
(
b
) Cost drawing (including time costing, computer application to office practice).
(Minimum of any two of the following)
(
c
) Conveyancing, Land Law, the Law of Landlord and Tenant.
(
d
) Company Law.
(
e
) Tax planning and Estate Duty Planning.
( f ) Financial Planning including Banking, Investment and Tax advice.
(
g
) Consumer Law.
(
h
) Labour Law (including the Factories Acts, Social Welfare Acts, the Labour Court etc.).
(
i
) Criminal Law and Evidence.
(
j
) E.E.C. Law and Practice.
(
k
) Bankruptcy and liquidation.
Note
: Under the new arrangements an apprentice will not be allowed to spend more than 3 months in the town agent's office. The remainder of the 21 month period in an office MUST be spent in the master's office.
4. One of the following
Administrative Law
Company Law
Evidence
Evidence
Industrial Law
Criminology
Criminology
Legal History
Roman Law
Personal Property
Family Law
European Law
Politics
Conflict of Law
Family Law
Family Law
Labour Law
Public International Law
Legal History
Private International Law
Comparative Law
Law of European Institutions
4.
5. Constitutional Law
(i) International Law
6. Public International Law
(ii) Evidence
7. Equity
(iii) Commercial Law
8. Criminal Law
(iv) Law of E.E.C.
9. Real Property
10. Personal Property
11. Evidence
12. Private International Law
Four subjects to be taken which are not included in first year.
3.
13. At present there are approximately 600 apprentices in training and some 1,500 solicitors in practice. By comparison Scotland with a population of 5,212,000 and a comprehensive system of legal aid, has 3,500 solicitors in practice. Notwithstanding the high apprentice/ solicitor ratio, there is an unsatisfied demand for apprenticeship. The Society being conscious of the problem of obtaining masters, agreed on 7th February, 1974, that in these special circumstances, it would be prepared to consider applications from solicitors generally for second apprentices. Also, as an exceptional measure, it agreed to allow solicitors of 5-7 years standing to take apprentices subject to the Society's approval in each case.
Length of Apprenticeship
14. Criticism has been voiced over the length of apprenticeship— 3 years for a person with a University degree. This is a statutory requirement provided for under Section 26 of the Solicitors Acts 1954-1960 and the Second Schedule to the Act. It cannot be altered without amending legislation. It is a factor which will be borne in mind in any future amendment of the legislation.
APPENDIX A.
LAW DEGREE COURSE CONTENT
Year
T.C.D.
U.C.D.
U.C.C.
U.C.G.
1.
S.I. No. 138 of 1974.
SOLICITORS ACT, 1954 (APPRENTICESHIP AND EDUCATION) (AMENDMENT No. 1) REGULATIONS 1974.
The Incorporated Law Society of Ireland in exercise of the powers conferred on them by
Sections 4
,
5
,
25
and
40
of the
Solicitors Act, 1954
hereby make the following Regulations.